Childlike
by PrettyOddx
Summary: When a villain from the Titan's past comes back into their lives, they know he's up to no good. But when one of their own gets captured, little do they know just how much will change for them once he's rescued. Will they ever truly be able to save their friend, or is it too late for him? Dark pasts will be revealed, changing their lives. Trigger warning: Self-harm, suicide, abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is my first story on this site, but I hope to add more! I plan to update this story weekly, and I already have 8 chapters completed and ready.**

 **This story will cover mature topics, including, but not limited to: self-harm, suicide, and abuse. Please be mature and respectful with the topics, and read at your own discretion. Thank you, and enjoy! :)**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

Bright, red lights stained the grey metal walls of the tower as the ear-piercing alarm filled its interior, alerting the team to an upcoming fight. The teens rushed down to the Main Ops room to find Robin staring at the large computer with a serious expression on his face, his muscles tense. The teens stood in silent disbelief as the symbol blinked repeatedly on the screen before them, a symbol that they never thought they'd see again. Flashing on the screen was a large, orange "S". Robin turned to face his team, his arms crossed against his chest.

"It's Slade. He's back."

* * *

"Seems kind of odd that Slade would choose a place like this. I mean, it seems pretty…I dunno, obvious?" Beast Boy questioned, looking up at the old, beaten down warehouse that Slade was supposedly hiding out in. The building was only a few miles outside of the heart of town, and wasn't concealed in the slightest.

"Yeah, Slade usually chooses more concealed places, and ones not so outdated," Cyborg agreed with his small, green friend. The building in front of them was made out of metal that had rusted over the years, leaving the once silver exterior a rough orange and brown. Some of the windows were broken, scattering sharp fragments of glass on the ground below, and some of the windows were completely missing with wooden boards nailed to the vacant openings. The door itself had been nailed shut with wooden boards as well, leaving no obvious entry ways. The old building was surrounded by small, crushed pieces of gravel, with blades of grass peeking out every so often. There were few lights in and around the building. The lights of the city could be seen in the distance, but street lamps had stopped long before they reached this area.

"It is rather unusual for him. We don't know what he's planning, so make sure you stay aware in there," Robin announced to the team. "Raven, can you get us in there?"

Nodding, Raven transported the team into the old warehouse in a dark orb. They landed in a dark hallway that was covered in cobwebs and vast amounts of dust. Old, broken furniture and shattered glass littered the ground, with the occasional rat or roach scurrying across the rubble. There was little sound apart from their quiet breathing, with the exception of a light hum coming from a room down the hall. A dull light shone from the open doorway of the room. Robin silently motioned for the team to head towards the area. As they slowly approached the door, the humming intensified, as well as the light. The team burst into the room, ready for a fight with the notorious villain, but found nothing but old furniture and wooden crates.

"Search the area. He has to be around here somewhe-," Robin started, but was soon interrupted by a familiar and frightening voice.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show. But, you never disappoint, do you Robin?" Slade appeared from behind a tall stack of crates, slowly approaching the Titans. His half black, half orange mask reflected the dull light off of it, intensifying his stare.

"Slade," Robin hollered at the menace, "Why have you come back?" He and his team prepared themselves for a battle, readying their powers and weapons.

Slade walked closer to the team slowly, chuckling. "Now Robin, I'm sure you and your little team can figure out why I've come back. It shouldn't be too difficult for the Boy Wonder…".

"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted, staring intently at the madman. Robin despised that man greatly, and he had for as long as he could remember. Ever since the masked man stepped into his young life, turmoil had always resulted; nothing good happened when he came around. He hated Slade with everything in him. Raven and Starfire took to the air, with the three boys remaining on the ground. Starfire shot starbolts at the man rapidly, but he dodged them as he ran towards Robin. Robin took out his staff and blocked Slade's incoming punches with great efficiency. Hitting the man square in the chest with the end of his staff, he stumbled back, but did not fall. Seeing an opportunity, Raven encased some wooden crates in her dark energy and threw them towards Slade. They narrowly missed the villain, causing Robin to dodge the incoming attack. The crates hit the ground with such strength that they shattered and splintered on impact, sending a brigade of small, stabbing objects into the air. Slade ran towards Cyborg, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the metal man. A swift uppercut from the robotic teen sent Slade backwards, right into the claws of a large Bengal tiger. Growling, Beast Boy clawed repeatedly at the villain, scraping his armor, and making him move back towards the crates from which he emerged.

"Now, Beast Boy, there's no need to be so aggressive," Slade teased as he put the boy into a headlock and dragged him backwards. In an attempt to get loose, Beast Boy transformed out of the form of a tiger and into a boa constrictor, wrapping his long, winding body around the villain's arm before slithering off onto the ground. Starbolts rained down on the villain, hitting him numerous times, knocking him back. Robin came from behind him, striking him in the head with his staff, making him stumble forward before coming in contact with Cyborg, who sent him crashing into some wooden crates.

The villain rose from the broken crates despite the many attacks, walking forward towards the teens. He bent his neck to the side, causing an audible crack to be released from his vertebrae. "Now, Titans, don't make this any harder than it needs to be." He darted towards the teens, much faster than they had expected. Instead of lunging towards the Boy Wonder as had been anticipated, he attacked Beast Boy, hitting him square in the chest and sending him back into the wall and onto the floor. Upon sitting up, he saw the madman approaching him quickly. He rapidly transformed into a cheetah and ran towards the villain. As he came within close proximity of Slade, he pounced with the intention of taking the man to the ground. Instead, as he took to the air in a leap, Slade grabbed him by the neck with such force that it caused him to transform back into human form. Gasping for air, Slade lowered the suffocating boy into a tight chokehold. The four Titans stood before the pair, poised for attack.

"Let him go!" Starfire raged, her hands lighting up green, ready to shoot starbolts.

"Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Slade said as he pulled out a small device with a red button on top. "One quick press of this button and this building and everyone in it will cease to exist. I don't think you want that, now do you?" He moved the device to the hand cutting off the boy's air supply. Beast Boy's green tint was slowly turning deep purple and blue. His large, stunned eyes were turning bloodshot as he struggled to get in air, and he was making awful gasping choking noises.

The team stood ready for attack, but unsure of their next move. Raven motioned towards Slade's hand with the intention of taking the device and started quietly chanting her mantra. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth-,"

"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't do that, Raven. Any attacks or attempts towards the device, and this place will go up in flames." Slade threatened.

"What do you want, Slade?" Robin questioned, anger welling up inside the teen hero. Threatening him was one thing, but threatening the lives of his friends and teammates was a completely different matter, and one he didn't take too lightly.

"Why do you assume I want something, Robin?" Slade responded. He started taking steps backwards, dragging the boy with him. By now, Beast Boy's nose had started bleeding profusely from the increasing pressure in his head. The blood was trickling over his mouth and onto Slade's arm.

"Let him go, Slade. You don't want to do this," Cyborg threatened, with his sonic cannon ready and aimed towards the villain.

"Would you really risk shooting me when you could accidently hit him in the process?" Slade questioned. Cyborg lowered his cannon down just slightly, weighing on the villain's words. Cyborg's aim was impeccable, but there was always that slight chance. "I didn't think so." Slade continued to head backwards with the now near-unconscious Beast Boy. "It's truly been a pleasure seeing your faces again," the man teased as he pulled a handful of small, round items out of his pocket and threw them at the team, immediately surrounding them with heavy smoke.

In a fit of coughs, the team struggled to make their way out of the dense smoke. It soon cleared out, revealing that the villain, and their friend, were gone. Laying on the ground where the pair once stood was Beast Boy's communicator, drops of blood staining it.

"Where did they go?" Starfire gasped, desperately wanting to be reunited with her young friend.

"They couldn't have gotten far," Cyborg started.

"I can't sense the presence of either of them," Raven stated, "They're no longer here."

The team stood silently for a moment, processing the situation at hand. They turned to Robin, waiting for their next plan of attack. "Cyborg," Robin spoke, "can you track them somehow?"

"Without his communicator on him, there's no way I can track down BB's location. I can't find them," Cyborg said, his voice trailing off quietly at the end.

"But how could they just disappear? Where could they have gone so quickly?" Starfire franticly said, her voice rising in despair.

"This doesn't make any sense," Robin stared at the ground. "What purpose could Slade have for capturing Beast Boy?"

"Perhaps he is searching for a new apprentice?" Starfire offered.

"But Slade knows that Beast Boy wouldn't agree to doing something like that," Raven stated.

"I didn't agree to do it out of my own will either, but Slade was able to manipulate me into doing it. He might be doing that with Beast Boy too," Robin responded. The already high tension in the room rose higher with the idea of Beast Boy being Slade's new apprentice, and that the team may have to fight their friend.

"The smoke that Slade engulfed us in," Cyborg started, "what if it put some sort of device in us? Just like he did when he manipulated you?" The team faced Robin, awaiting his response.

"That's very possible," Robin started, thinking about what to do next.

"When we get back to the tower, I can scan everyone to see if I can find any sort of device in our bodies," Cyborg offered.

"Raven, are you sure that you cannot sense either of them?" Starfire asked Raven, hoping for a change in answer.

"I'm sure. Slade has always been difficult to pick up on, but I can sense Beast Boy from a mile away. They're not anywhere near here," Raven said gravely.

Robin sighed briefly before speaking to the team. "We should head back to the tower and see if we can find some sort of device implanted into any of us. While there, we can search for any new leads on Slade and hopefully find Beast Boy soon." The team nodded in agreement, heading out of the old building into the cold night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Things are about to heat up fast in this fanfic, so I hope you enjoy!**

 **I know I said I was going to update once a week, but I've decided to try and update twice a week instead. I'm almost done writing the story, so I'm excited to get it posted and hopefully receive feedback on the story and my writing.**

 **Have a nice day! Thank you for reading!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

"I don't believe it," Cyborg shook his head at the monitor before him, not believing the results. "There's no devices in any of us. Nothing foreign, nothing new. Nothing…" All four of the Titans had been scanned and tested. Their blood had been thoroughly examined, and body scans at the microscopic level showed nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing had been implanted into any of them; they were normal.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Raven questioned, "How can he manipulate Beast Boy into being his apprentice then?" She was just as confused as Cyborg.

"Maybe Slade doesn't intend on making Beast Boy his apprentice. Maybe he has different plans in mind?" Cyborg thought out loud, making the team silent for a few seconds as they all thought to themselves. Soon, Robin spoke up.

"I still don't understand why Slade would target Beast Boy though. What intentions could he have for him?"

"Robin, have you discovered any leads on Slade yet? Perhaps he has been spotted somewhere?" Starfire asked. Robin walked over to the large computer and refreshed its results.

"No, nothing yet. He's staying pretty hidden."

Cyborg slammed his fist on the table, making everyone jump at the sudden loud noise. "If he hurts him anymore than he already has, I'll-,"

"No one is going to get hurt, except Slade. We'll find them both soon enough, and then Slade will pay," Robin responded sternly, reassuring everyone as much as he possibly could in a situation like this. His team stood around him, sad and worried expressions covering their tired faces. "It's late. We should all get some sleep. We can resume our search in the morning when we're rested," he said, shocking his team. Robin was acting surprisingly calm about the situation, considering it involved Slade. It was a relief to see him not acting as angry and obsessive as he usually did during times like this. Robin had been trying to work on his temperament lately, and it seemed to be paying off well. Without speaking, the team nodded and turned towards the door, each heading to their respective bedrooms. Even Robin chose to head to bed rather than sitting at the computer all night trying to track down Slade. As the teens readied themselves for what was sure to be a sleepless night, they sent their thoughts to their missing teammate, hoping that he was truly alright.

* * *

Pain was the first thing that hit him upon waking up. It was everywhere and it was intense. His throat burned with each intake of air, with each breath causing his muscles to jolt in agony. Dried blood covered his nose and mouth, making his lips feel sticky. As he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry. Blinking a few times in an attempt to clarify his vision, he saw that he was in a bright room. The blinding lights above him added to the already intense pain, sending jabs of pain into his head and eyes. He moaned, making his body to spasm once more. He tried to turn his neck to get a better look as to where he was, but he couldn't move it more than slightly to each side. He sprawled out his legs and arms just to find that he was encased within some sort of container. Panic rose within him. Unable to move, he laid there on his back, his body raging with pain as his mind filled with fear.

The light above him darkened suddenly as a large figure moved in front of it. His one eye stared down at him, and the memories of what had happened flooded back into Beast Boy's consciousness. The warehouse, the fight, the suffocation, the blackness. His body was still; too afraid despite the pain to move.

"Look who's finally up," Slade said to Beast Boy through the glass that separated them. "Hope your nap was restful. You were out for quite a long time. I was starting to think you weren't going to wake at all."

Beast Boy parted his lips and strenuously forced words out of his throat. "Where….am….I?" He choked out, his body racked with spasms once again.

"I bet you're wondering about a lot of things right now," the evil man teased. Evil didn't even begin to describe the wickedness contained within that man. "You're wondering what happened, why I specifically took you hostage, where you're at, where your friends are, why you're in a cage of sorts." Beast Boy had temporarily forgotten about being contained within the small confines of his cage. He was now able to get a better look at his miniature prison; it was a small, clear container that looked like a stretched out and somewhat flattened sphere. There was a tube that sprouted from the top of the container and connected into a shiny, metal box. He couldn't see the details of the box that lay just outside of his prison, but he saw what seemed to be buttons or switches on it. There was a rectangular door attached to the cage on hinges, and it was locked shut. It was locked from the outside, with no way to escape from the inside. He was trapped. Unable to move, and unable to escape.

"What…do…you…want...," Beast Boy coughed, struggling to speak, "…with…me?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to destroy the Teen Titans. All these years, that's been my goal. And you, you are how I'm going to do it. I'm going to destroy the team from the inside out, starting with you. Break them apart, piece by pathetic piece," Slade banged his fist on the containers surface, making the pain in Beast Boy's skull pound harder.

Beast Boy was confused, to say the least. His mind was cloudy, and he wasn't able to fully comprehend what was happening. His animal instincts were kicking in as he woke up further. His instincts told him he was grave danger, and that he was trapped, cornered. He saw the threat standing tall and proud above him, filling him with rage. A low growl rumbled in his chest, and he craved the opportunity to break out and attack, but he was too weak. Too weak to even move his neck, let alone break out of this miniature prison.

"Don't worry, dear boy," Slade started, pressing a series of buttons on the metal box, "You won't remember a single thing." He moved one of the switches upwards, and a gas started filling the container. He was losing oxygen quickly, his mind fogging up fast. The image of Slade standing above him started to blur, the edges of his vision turning blacker and blacker until he saw nothing but darkness. He could hear the villain talking, but it seemed distant and quiet. He could only make out one thing he said before the darkness completely took over. "But your precious friends will never forget." He slipped into unconsciousness to the sound of Slade's deep laughter, taunting him.

* * *

The morning light that streamed through the open windows of the tower was a welcomed relief from what was a restless night. The four teens tossed and turned for the hours that they were supposed to be resting, but rest was something that they could not find. Thoughts of their lost friend consumed their every thought. Where was he? Was he okay? Was he even still…alive? Anything was possible with Slade. There was no end to his torture, his torment. He would go to any lengths to bring the Teen Titans down, and the team knew that very well.

They groggily made their way down to the Main Ops room, anxiously waiting to start their search. The team was silent, acknowledging each other's presence with a simple understanding look. Despite the four, warm bodies that occupied the room, it felt empty; the absence of Beast Boy was painfully obvious. Robin went straight to the computer as soon as he entered the room, while Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg each sat on the couch. The three watched him, hoping for some good news.

"No sightings last night. No word on where he may be hiding," Robin sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand in frustration. That was the last thing that the team was hoping to hear. They wished for nothing more than to be reunited with their friend and teammate, and to make Slade pay for all the pain that he had caused them all these years. Slade was one of those villains who somehow found a way to slither his way into every aspect of the team. First it was Robin, then Terra, then Raven, and now Beast Boy. He had affected each and every one of the team members, and he had been the cause of many sleepless nights. Nights filled with racing thoughts and too-real-for-words nightmares, much like the ones last night. "We should start searching," Robin turned towards his team. Dark bags were visible, even underneath his mask. "Raven, search the warehouse. See if you can find any clues or anything that may lead us to finding them. Starfire, search the areas surrounding the warehouse. Cyborg, search the town. Make sure to check underground too. I'll continue a search on the computer, see if there are any leads." The three teens nodded, heading towards the door to begin their tasks.

Hours went by with no luck from any of them. Nothing at the warehouse, nothing in the surrounding areas, nothing in the town, nothing on their database. Nothing. Not even a starting point as to where they may be hiding. Searches went on for days. Empty days of searching followed by sleepless nights, only to be repeated again and again. After the fourth sleepless night, they headed down to the Main Ops room, waiting to start their searches for yet another day. Robin made his way to the computer. The three teens on the couch stared at the floor, waiting for the same general instructions that they had received for the last few days. When Robin didn't speak up soon, they turned to face him, confused. Robin was staring at the screen, his mouth a tight line. Flashing on the screen was a large, orange "S".

"Slade."


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three! The plot is starting to really get going in this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Please add reviews to the chapters! I'd love to hear your feedback on how you like the story, your predictions, your critiques, etc... Always looking to improve my writing, so anything and everything helps. :)**

 **Thank you! Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

"It's Slade," Robin said sternly.

"Really?" Cyborg exclaimed, astonished.

"Oh, this is such great news! Now we can reunite with friend Beast Boy!" Starfire clasped her hands in front of her chest, feeling it fill with warm relief.

"Where are they?" Raven asked their leader.

"They're just a few miles north of the warehouse," Robin announced to the team.

"But I checked all the areas surrounding the warehouse many, many times. I even searched miles away from the warehouse. There were no buildings that far north," Starfire informed their leader.

"They may be underground. Slade has done that before," Robin stated. Robin looked at the three Titans before him. They were all wide eyed and eager, stunned but excited about this new development. "C'mon," Robin said to the team, "Get in the T-car. Let's go get Beast Boy back." The team hurried out of the tower, rushing to Slade's location.

* * *

As they arrived at the location, Starfire's statement was confirmed. There were no buildings in the area; nowhere even close. The area had tall, old trees that held large canopies of leaves. The thick roots of the trees weaved through the Earth like yarn. Moss and lichen covered the forest. It was now early afternoon, and the hot sun peaked through the leaves, leaving unique patterns of light on the forest floor.

"Start searching. Look for anything that seems out of place or seems like an entryway of sorts," Robin ordered his team, and they began searching. Turning over rocks and feeling around the trees and their roots, they looked for any clues. They covered as much ground as possible, searching anything and everything in the area. Starfire and Raven took to the air, searching the higher areas of the trees, and to see if they could find anything major on the ground with an aerial view. The sunlit patterns that covered the forest floor started to dim and fade away as the afternoon turned to evening. It would be too dark to search soon, which the team feared. As they were about to lose hope for today's search, their communicators went off.

"I found an entrance," Raven spoke through the communicator, and the team quickly made their way to her location. When they arrived, they found her standing next to a large, flat rock that was propped up against a barren lump of land that sprouted from the ground. "I was able to move the rock out of the way a little, enough to see that this is a cave of sorts. It's too heavy though, even for my powers," she said, seeming somewhat deflated. Cyborg approached the rock, and Raven moved out of his way. With a loud grunt, Cyborg pushed the rock away and to the ground. When it hit the ground, a large boom sounded, startling surrounding wildlife from hiding and slumber.

"Let's go," Robin stated, and they started to make their way into the cave-like entrance. It was very dark within the cave. Starfire used her starbolt energy to light up the cave, and Cyborg used the built-in light on his shoulder as well. The cave-like formation was very narrow; they had to walk single file down the corridor. A few yards into the entrance, there were steps that descended further into the Earth. The stairway seemed to go on forever.

"How far does this go down?" Starfire exclaimed, surprised by the depth.

Cyborg looked at the monitor built on his arm. "We're a few stories below the surface; we should be there soon." Right as the half-man, half-robot said that, the stairway took an abrupt turn to the right, revealing a room.

"Seems like we're already there," Raven responded. The four teens entered the room. The room was very spacious. The walls were made out of smooth stone, much like the one that was blocking the entrance, with torches hung up on them for light. The floor was tightly packed in dirt, giving it an almost dusty appearance. The room was primarily empty, with the exception of some basic furnishings, such as wooden tables and chairs. On the opposite wall, there was a doorway.

"There," Robin pointed at the doorway, and the team made their way over there. As they entered, their surroundings soon changed. No longer were the walls strictly made of the smooth stone. The walls seemed more cavernous, with openings and grooves littered throughout it. The narrow door and entryway soon expanded into a larger, more round area. Instead of torches for light, there were actual lights hanging from the ceiling. There were large, pointed pieces of rock that jutted from the ground scattered throughout the area. They saw no people, nor did they see any evidence suggesting recent human activity besides the apparent electricity.

"He has to be here! Why else would this be down here?" Cyborg exclaimed, gesturing at the space.

"Search the area. Try to find anything relating to Sla-," Robin started, but was soon interrupted. As if on cue, Slade appeared from behind one of the sharpened rock formations, and started walking towards the Titans. The teens readied themselves for an attack.

"Welcome. Took you much longer to find me than I had anticipated. You all are really starting to lose it, aren't you? What a pity," the villain spoke, provoking the Titans.

"Slade!" Robin shouted at the man, done with his games and his taunts.

"Where is our friend?" Starfire harshly questioned the man, anger rising in her voice.

"Ah, you're still wondering about your _little_ friend, aren't you?" He emphasized the term 'little', making it stand out against the rest of his statement.

"What have you done with him?" Cyborg growled at the man.

"Why do you assume I've done something with him? It's not as if I get amusement out of hurting you Titans," Slade snickered, further angering the team with the possibility of their friend being injured, or worse.

"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted, and the team sprang into action. Cyborg went straight for him, hitting him right in the face, knocking his skull to the side. Cracking his neck, he attacked Cyborg in the same manner, but with more intensity. Cyborg fell back, hitting one of the sharpened rocks hard. Starfire flew towards Slade and shot starbolts at him, hitting him over and over again. Robin came in from behind with an attack, slamming his metal staff into the neck of Slade. Slade turned around, grabbing Robin's arm, before kneeing him in the gut. As Robin fell to the floor in pain, Slade ran towards the back. He didn't get far though; Raven encased the man's chest in her dark energy, holding him up in the air.

Robin stood back up, recovered enough from the attack to speak. "Where is Beast Boy?" he shouted at the captured villain. He could tell that Slade was very amused at their attacks and their questioning. It frightened the young heroes at just how much Slade was enjoying it, making their concern about their friend's wellbeing much greater.

"Why do you ask me where he is, when he's right under your noses? Did you even bother to look for him, or do you just choose to interrogate me instead?" Slade questioned the young heroes. Slade pulled a small key from his belt, and dropped it to the ground. "I'm sure you are smart enough to figure it out for yourselves." Slade snickered as he motioned his head to the side, pointing it towards the left.

Robin bent over and picked up the key, examining it. He pulled a specialized rope made from a strong metal out from his utility belt. "Raven, lower him down."

Raven obeyed, lowering the villain to the ground, but not releasing him. She moved his helpless body towards one of the larger rocks that Robin was standing at. They tied him to the rock, making sure to strap down his arms and legs so he couldn't move. Once he was properly restricted, Raven removed her energy from his body.

"Let's go find Beast Boy," Robin said to the team, and they moved in the direction that Slade had pointed them in. They moved to the left side of the room. This side of the room had the majority of the large rocks, making the area somewhat mazelike. They searched the area, making sure to look down each rock-formed corridor. Suddenly, there was a high-pitched gasp.

"Over there," Starfire stated as she pointed to the corner. Over in the corner, blocked by some more of the large rocks, they could see the edge of a curved, glass container, with a box shaped panel on the outside. They could see one of Beast Boy's shoes at the edge of the sphere. The team rushed to the container, key in hand.

Starfire gasped as soon as she saw what, or rather who, was inside the container.

"No way," Cyborg exclaimed quietly, not believing what was in front of his eyes. Inside the container was a small, green boy who looked to only be about five or six years old.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone!**

 **Here's Chapter 4! Hope you like it!**

 **Please review the chapters/story! I truly appreciate feedback!**

 **Thank you for reading! Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

The small boy resembled their lost friend, but was much smaller and seemed significantly younger. He had the same large, pointed ears, and the same fang that poked out from his bottom lip. He was wearing the same uniform, but it hung off of his body like an oversized blanket. The arm and pant sleeves were rolled up, and some areas looked like they had been ripped off, leaving much of his skin exposed. The shoes and gloves were left on the floor of the container, much too big for the small boy. His eyes were wide, and they could tell he was frightened. He was sitting in the corner of the sphere, hugging his knees to his chest. He had a black eye, with the bruise spilling over to the bridge of his nose. There was a little dried blood underneath his nose and on his chin, flaking off onto his chest. He had a cut that had started scabbing over right above his left eyebrow. The small boy was shaking, growing tenser as the four teens approached him.

"Beast Boy," Cyborg started, his voice shaking ever so subtly. "Is that you?" The small boy didn't respond; he just shook more. Robin knelt down to the door, inserting the key into the lock and turned it. The small boy watched him very nervously, his eyes following his every move. The door unlatched, and he opened the rectangular door.

"Beast Boy, are you okay?" Robin asked him. The boy didn't respond. "Beast Boy?"

"Who are you?" the small boy asked. His nails were gripping tightly into his exposed skin, turning the area around it a light green tint.

"Beast Boy, it is us! Your friends! You do not remember?" Starfire asked fearfully.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" the small boy asked, his voice quickening. He was starting to get more fidgety; he was no longer gripping his nails into his skin, and he was no longer hugging his knees to his chest. He had now repositioned himself so that he was sitting on his knees.

"It's your name. Do you not remember?" Robin said to him. The small boy said nothing; he just stared at the teens. "C'mon, let's go back home, Beast Boy," he said as he reached in to take the boy's hand. The small boy flinched when he was touched.

"No! Don't touch me!" the boy was screaming now, obviously distraught. Robin recoiled his hand quickly, shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Beast Boy…," Robin started.

"Stop calling me that! I don't know who that is!" the boy screamed. He was on all four limbs now. Suddenly, he transformed into a mouse. He quickly scurried out of the sphere and past the Titans. Before they could react, he was a few yards away from the teens. He transformed back into human form, stumbling a little in the process. He corrected himself quickly, though, and started sprinting. He did not see the entrance from which the Titans found the room, so he ran towards one of the walls. Desperate to find an escape route, he ran at the perimeter of the wall. Little did he know that the Titans were right behind him, running to catch up.

"Wait! Stop!" Robin was shouting after the boy. He looked behind him to see them quickly approaching, and panicked. He looked in front of him, hoping to find a way to escape, but noticed that he had found a dead end instead. He was cornered, and the Titans were rapidly approaching. They slowed as they came within proximity of him, trying to calm the frightened boy.

"It's okay; we're not going to hurt you. We're here to help," Cyborg said as calmly as he could to the boy. He didn't want to risk upsetting him anymore than he already was.

"Don't come any closer!" the boy screamed at the teens. They slowed more, but still approached him. "I'm warning you!" he yelled. He took a dominant stance, ready for attack or escape as needed. The teens noticed this more animalistic change, and stopped walking towards him. They were only a few feet away from him now.

"Beast Boy, it's okay. We're not a threat," Raven said to the boy.

"Stop calling me that!" he shouted back at her. He clenched his fists tightly, and his muscles tensed. He swiftly transformed into a small bird. He flapped his wings a few times to steady himself, and then took off towards the ceiling. He flew past the cavern walls behind the Titans. The teens tried to chase him, but now knew to give him space so that they wouldn't frighten him further. Soon, the boy found an open area within the cavern wall, just big enough for his small human form. He flew into the space as far back as he could before transforming back into his original form.

The teens gathered below the part of the wall that the boy found refuge in, staring up at it. "How can we convince him to come down if he's this panicky? I've never seen him like this," Cyborg asked. It concerned him to see his friend this way.

"He acts as if he does not remember who we are, or who he is," Starfire said sadly.

"Maybe he doesn't remember?" Cyborg questioned.

"I can sense his emotions. He's confused, and scared. He really doesn't know who we are, or who he is. He doesn't understand what's going on. But he feels threatened by us," Raven informed the team.

"If he doesn't remember who he is, then he's not going to respond to 'Beast Boy'," Robin stated.

"Perhaps he will respond to his real name, 'Garfield'?" Starfire offered, remembering the name that ElastiGirl used to refer to him. The team thought for a moment before responding.

"Worth a shot," Robin said. Starfire flew upwards towards the opening that the boy had positioned himself in. She peered into the opening and saw him shaking and hunched over, his knees hugged to his chest once again. He looked her in the eye before looking away. He looked sad, scared.

"Garfield?" she questioned quietly. For a moment, the boy stopped shaking. He looked up and met her eyes, a shocked expression covering his face.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" he whispered. His voice was quiet, but high pitched.

"I am Starfire. You may not remember me, but we are very good friends," she said to the boy.

"I don't remember you," he trailed off at the end, his voice shaking. Starfire had a sad expression on her face.

"I know, but that is okay. We are your friends. We will not hurt you," she said to Garfield. He didn't respond; he just stared at the rock around him. Taking a risk, Starfire slowly reached into the opening, making sure not to touch him. "Do you trust me?" she asked him. Garfield looked at her hand for a few moments. He was cupping his clenched hands together now, nervously weighing his options. He moved his gaze from her hands to her eyes. Slowly, he began to nod. She smiled, opening her hand palm up. The boy placed his small, green hand into hers, and began to crawl out. When he reached the end of the opening, she helped him out and held him in a comforting hug. He wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Please don't hurt me," he whispered, barely audible. She patted him on the back softly in response. Starfire slowly returned down the ground. When she reached it, she bent down, setting the boy on the ground next to her. He stayed close to her, not daring to leave her side just yet. He stared down at the ground, his fists clenched.

"Garfield," Starfire said to the boy calmly, "these are your friends too. I know you do not remember, but that is okay." She started gesturing to her friends individually. "This is Raven, this is Cyborg, and this is Robin." Garfield looked up at the Titans nervously. He was still shaking, but not as much as he previously was. The Titans smiled at him, easing his tensions further.

"The machine that we found him in, maybe it can turn him back?" Cyborg quietly asked Robin. The teen leader nodded.

"Let's try it," he said. Starfire held her hand out for Garfield, which he cautiously took. The teens starting walking, but the boy soon tripped, falling to the floor. He tried to roll the pant legs that tripped him back up, but they were much too long on him; they just kept falling down.

"Here," Starfire said to him, picking him up. He tensed, but accepted. The teens continued to the machine, carrying the boy with them. They passed the rock that Slade had been tied to, but found nothing but rope.

"Slade! He got away!" Cyborg exclaimed.

Robin walked over to the rope, picking it up and examining it. "He somehow managed to cut through the rope," he groaned, packing the rope back into his belt.

"Wait," Raven started, "if Slade's gone, then what about the machine?" The team, wide eyed at the possibility, rushed towards the machine's location. When they reached it, they found that the machine, like Slade, was long gone. Robin slammed one of his fists into a rock, grunting in frustration. The sudden outburst of frustration startled Garfield, causing him to jump a little. Starfire rubbed his back in a small, circular motion in an attempt to comfort him.

"Robin?" Starfire asked quietly. Robin turned to her. "Perhaps we should head back home?" Robin looked at her, then at the small, scared boy in her arms. He sighed.

"You're right," he nodded. He started heading back towards the entrance, the team following. Raven was right behind Robin, Starfire and Garfield were in the middle, and Cyborg was right behind her in the case that Garfield attempted to escape again.

"Home?" Garfield quietly asked Starfire.

"Oh, yes! You will love it there, I know that! It will all be okay," she reassured him, which he seemed to accept. The team headed out of the underground shelter into the night. It was chilly out, so the team hurried as fast as they could, saying nothing the whole walk back. The dark blue-black sky had scattered stars throughout it, lighting their path just enough to see. The only sounds in the area besides their breathing were the calls and various sounds of the surrounding wildlife. They soon reached the T-car, ending their small hike.

"Garfield, this is the –," Starfire started, attempting to explain the T-car to the boy.

"Shhh…," Cyborg hushed at her softly, "He's sleeping, Star." She looked down at the small, green boy in her arms, and sure enough, he was fast asleep. Careful not to wake him, the teens quietly got into the car. Starfire sat Garfield across her lap, his head resting lightly on her shoulder. His breathing was light and slow, making quiet snores every few breaths. He had stopped shaking, and finally seemed to be calm. Cyborg drove them back home, taking extra precautions not to wake his small, slumbering friend.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 5!**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter! Things have turned in the story and the plot is starting to thicken, so I hope this chapter leaves you eager to read more!**

 **Thank you so much for reading and your feedback! Please review with questions, comments, critiques, predictions, etc...!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

Garfield slept the whole way back home, only stirring a little bit every so often, but never fully awakening. The team was silent as well, not wanting to wake the boy, but also needing time to process what had just happened. As soon as they arrived back at the tower, Robin turned to Starfire who was sitting in the backseat.

"Star, can you try to find him some clothes that may fit him and get him cleaned up a bit?" Starfire graciously nodded, accepting the request. Starfire seemed to be the only one that the boy trusted so far, so it seemed best to let her handle him for now. She gently shook the boy's shoulder, attempting to wake him.

"Garfield…Garfield," she said as she tried to wake him. Within moments, his eyes fluttered open. It took him a few seconds to recall where he was and who he was with, causing a brief instant of panic. He quickly calmed down though. The teens got out of the car, Starfire still carrying the boy. Robin walked towards Starfire and Garfield.

"Garfield, this is Titans Tower, our home. Starfire is going to help you get into something more comfortable inside. Okay?" he spoke to the small boy, who nodded at the spiky haired teen. "Star, just meet us in the Main Ops room when you're done, okay?" Starfire nodded as well, and then headed inside with Garfield.

Starfire and Garfield remained quiet as they made their way inside, the small boy still waking up from his nap. Starfire was trying to figure out where she could find clothes to fit such a tiny boy. She decided to try Beast Boy's room, thinking that he may have some smaller clothes from when he was younger. As she entered the Titan's room, which was much more like a clothes-covered, strange-smelling warzone, she set the boy down on the bottom bunk.

"I'm going to see if I can find any clothes in here," she said to him, motioning to the closet. She started rummaging through the clothes, attempting to find something small enough. While she was doing that, Garfield looked around at the room before him, taking in everything. He looked at one of the many mountains of clothing across from him, and got wide-eyed. He walked towards the pile and started searching through it, looking for what had caught his eye.

Starfire, who had just found something that may work, turned around to give the clothes to the boy. She saw that he was no longer on the bed, and she didn't immediately see him anywhere in the room.

"Garfield?" she asked, slightly panicked at his unexpected disappearance. Suddenly, a head popped out from the mountain of clothes, revealing the boy's whereabouts. "Why are you in there?" Starfire asked, confused.

Garfield crawled out from the pile, dragging behind him a small, tan, stuffed bunny. It looked very old and worn-out. One of its button eyes was missing, and the fabric was torn in some spots. It had a few stains covering the body and the face. Once he was out of the pile, he stood up, showing her what he found.

"How did you get my bunny?" he asked her, wondering why it was in these strangers' tower.

"Uhh…," Starfire started, unsure of how to answer his question. She looked at the worn stuffed animal and then at the boy, trying to come up with a suitable explanation. "Um, we found it? Yes! We found it outside one day, and, uh, decided to bring him into the tower until we could find his owner!" She lied, smiling brightly at the boy, hoping he would accept her explanation. He was silent for a moment, processing her story.

"Okay," he said, a tiny smile forming. "Thank you." He walked back to the bed, holding the bunny close to him. He sat down, and Starfire handed him the clothes she found.

"Perhaps these clothes may work?" she said to him. "I shall go over here while you change," she walked back over to the closet, turning her back to him to give him some privacy. He started changing into the new clothes, finishing quickly.

"Okay," he said, signaling that he had finished changing. Starfire turned around to see that the clothes fit the small boy very well. He was wearing tan shorts with pockets on both sides, and a plain black T-shirt. He still had no shoes though, leaving his small feet bare. Starfire noticed that, not only was his face banged up, but also his arms. He had bruises all up and down his arms, and some cuts. Some seemed relatively fresh, but others were healed and scarred.

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "They fit!"

"Do you have a jacket?" Garfield asked, his body shaking ever so slightly. Starfire searched through the closet, finally finding a jacket. She flew over to Garfield, handing him the clothing item.

"I cannot find one for your size, but this one should do," she said as she handed him one of his dark grey teenage-sized civilian clothes jackets. Garfield slipped on the jacket, which fell all the way down to his knees. Starfire helped him roll up the jacket sleeves.

"Let's go get you cleaned up, now," she said to him. "I will also hem the sleeves so they are of appropriate length," They walked out of the room, Garfield still holding onto the bunny. They walked to the nearest bathroom, where Starfire proceeded to clean the dried blood from the boy's face and treat his wounds, as well as hem the jacket.

Meanwhile, Robin, Cyborg, and Raven were in the Main Ops room discussing what had just occurred at Slade's hideout.

"I don't understand how Slade could've gotten away! That rope is made of strong, durable metal! It's almost impossible to get out of it!" Robin complained, unsure of how Slade could've escaped.

"We need to find out where he went with that machine. We need to change Beast Boy back," Raven added.

"Are we sure that it's Beast Boy?" Robin asked. The stunned expressions on Raven and Cyborg's faces told him that he needed to explain himself a bit more. "I mean, this is Slade we're talking about. Isn't it possible that he still has Beast Boy somewhere, and that this kid is some sort of trick?"

"But how could he have found a kid that looks exactly like Beast Boy?" Cyborg asked, not believing Robin's theory.

"And he responded to 'Garfield'," Raven added. "Slade doesn't know Beast Boy's actual name. It's unlikely to be mere coincidence that he found an exact lookalike kid with the same name."

Robin thought about this for a moment. "Let's do some DNA testing on him, just to make sure. We need to be sure about this." The team nodded, agreeing with him despite his obvious paranoia.

The doors to the Main Ops room swooshed open, revealing Starfire and a now cleaned up Garfield, who was still holding the bunny. Garfield, still a bit hesitant towards the other three Titans, stalled a little at the door. The team noticed this hesitation. Starfire patted him on the back, pushing him forward a bit towards the rest of the team.

"Hey Garfield, how you doing?" Cyborg asked the shy boy.

"I'm fine," he responded back to him. The team made him nervous. He was finally getting used to Starfire; she seemed to be very kind. Cyborg was large, and although he seemed really friendly, he also seemed threatening. Raven was dark and brooding, and something about her made him really fearful towards her, but he did feel a certain level of safety around her. Robin seemed to be a very angry guy; he could tell that he was trying to stay calm, but when he lost his temper back at the cave, it startled him quite a lot. He knew he was in safe hands with the strangers who were apparently his friends, but he still didn't feel totally comfortable around them. It was all too unfamiliar and unusual.

When the two finally made their way to where the rest of the team stood in the room, Garfield stared at the floor. The Beast Boy they knew always made eye contact with them, and he was rarely shy. This younger version of him, on the other hand, seemed to avoid eye contact like the plague. And when he did meet eyes with someone else, they could see the discomfort in his gaze. There was something else there too, something dark, but they couldn't quite pinpoint it. Suddenly, a low grumble came from the boy's stomach.

"Are you hungry?" Cyborg asked Garfield, and he nodded timidly. "C'mon, let's go get you something to eat." Cyborg lead the young boy towards the kitchen. Garfield walked slowly behind him, still holding the bunny.

"Where'd he find the rabbit?" Raven asked Starfire.

"He found it in his room. That is where I found his clothes as well. Apparently, it is his bunny," Starfire responded. The three looked back to the kitchen where Cyborg was helping to get Garfield some food.

"Anything in particular you'd like?" The boy looked at the cupboard, then to the fridge, thinking about what he'd like to eat. In the end, he just shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what he wanted to eat, and completely unsure of what they had. "Hmmm…," Cyborg thought, "how about cereal? You like cereal, right?" The boy nodded. Smiling, Cyborg got a bowl down and started preparing the cereal. While he was doing this, Garfield walked over to the table and sat down in a chair. He placed his bunny on the table off to the side, allowing for room for the cereal. Soon, Cyborg came to the table and gave the boy his cereal. Cyborg sat in the chair next to him, having made himself a bowl too.

Garfield started eating his cereal, making a weird face after the first bite. "Everything okay?" Cyborg asked him, concerned at the face he was making.

"What kind of milk is this?" the boy asked.

"It's soy milk," Cyborg responded.

"Hmm…it's weird, but I think I like it," Garfield said, taking another bite. Cyborg smiled at him, glad that he had calmed down and was starting to get more comfortable around them.

Soon, the rest of the team had joined them at the table, each with a bowl of cereal of their own. They sat for a few minutes in silence, each enjoying their cereal. The four teens kept glancing at each other, silently wondering how to talk to the boy and get a conversation going with him. Soon, Cyborg spoke up again.

"So Garfield, how old are you?" he asked. He seemed really, really young; he was very small.

"I'm six," he said. He was much smaller than the average six year old. He was small as a teenager too, but this was unexpectedly short. Garfield went to go scratch his cheek, right under his black eye. As soon as he made contact, he winced. He tried to hide it, but couldn't.

"How did you get the black eye? And the cut?" Raven asked him. Garfield hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"That scary man at the cave. When he opened the cage to give me water, I tried to escape, but he grabbed my arm. I kicked him in the face. I thought it'd work, but it didn't. He shoved me up against one of the rocks and hit my face really hard. Then he grabbed me by my shirt and pushed me back into the container. I landed on the glass of water. I broke it, and one of the pieces got my forehead," he explained to the team. He stared down at his hands that were sitting on the table as he talked; he was picking at his nails, pulling at the skin. "After that, he didn't give me anymore food or water. And then you guys came a few days later." The team looked at him, stunned expressions covering their faces. They knew Slade was a ruthless villain, but to attack and injure a child seemed extreme, even for him.

Raven, using her magic to grab a large glass and fill it with water from the sink, brought it to the boy quickly, setting it in front of him. He looked at her with large eyes, surprised by what he just saw. He had been unable to see her use her powers back at the cave. "Drink. You need the water," she ordered him. He picked up the glass and started sipping it. Those sips soon turned into gulps though, and the water was down within a few seconds.

Garfield looked at the teens' faces. They all looked surprised at how fast he was able to get that down. That was fast, even for being that dehydrated.

"I was thirsty…," he said, feeling insecure with all of their eyes on him.

"I bet," Cyborg said, half chuckling at the huge understatement that Garfield made. Raven, using her powers once again, refilled his cup, which he drank down a bit slower this time. By the time he had finished the glass, he was yawning and his eyes were growing heavy.

"Tired?" Robin asked him. Garfield nodded.

"Where should we have him sleep?" Cyborg asked the other teens. They hadn't thought that far yet. They thought for a moment that he could stay in his room, but they didn't want him to be alone.

"Perhaps he could stay in my room? I have plenty of space in there for him," Starfire offered. The other Titans nodded, approving the idea. Starfire flew over to the young boy before landing next to him. "Is that okay, Garfield? Would you like to rest in my room?" she asked him.

"Okay," he said. Starfire extended her hand out to him, which he took. He stood up, grabbing the bunny, and followed Starfire towards the exit.

"Goodnight friends!" Starfire said, turning back to them and smiling.

The three teens wished both Starfire and Garfield a goodnight as well, and the two headed up to Starfire's room. Raven moved the glass that Garfield had been drinking out of towards Robin.

"Still want that DNA test?" she asked him. Robin nodded, picking up the glass.

"Let's go analyze the DNA. Cyborg, do you have Beast Boy's DNA to compare it to?" Robin asked.

"Sure do," Cyborg responded. The teens headed to the med-bay to analyze and compare the DNA samples from Garfield and Beast Boy, waiting to see if it was a match or not.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone! Here's chapter 6!**

 **I've been trying to figure out how to reply to reviews in the review section, but of course, I lack in an understanding of how technology works haha, so I'm going to respond to the reviews here:**

 **Guest on Chapter 4: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and are interested to see what's going to happen. I'm interested in maybe writing a sequel to this story, and I'm considering including BBRae in that story, but I feel like it has little place in this story due to the age of Beast Boy in the story. But, nonetheless, I'm interested in a BBRae story line/friendship :)**

 **PSI-Triforce on Chapter 5: Thank you! That means a lot; I really enjoy the 'young-ified' stories because I feel like a lot can be done within the plotline that could be really intense and feelsy. As for the M rating, you'll see very soon why I choose that rating. The topic/message that will be shown in this story is one that is very important to me, and I wanted this story to be able to express that topic in a mature, interesting way. Hope you enjoy it! :)**

 **I've decided to update this story a bit more often than I was. Instead of updating every Wednesday and Sunday, I'm going to start updating every other day. Starting in late June, I may be unable to update very regularly, and in order to avoid that, I will have the entire story uploaded before then. If I decide to do a sequel to this story, which I think I'll probably do, I'll start writing it as soon as possible and hopefully start posting chapters around August. I like to have multiple chapters already complete before I start posting so that I can ensure a regularly updated story. I have ideas about what the second story could focus on, but if you have suggestions, please post them!**

 **Thank you all for continuing to read! Please continue to review! I love reading your comments!**

 **Have a nice day! :)**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

Displayed on the screens in the med-bay were side-by-side analyses of Beast Boy's DNA and Garfield's DNA. Robin, Cyborg, and Raven stood before the screens, going over the results of their testing.

"Looks like a match," Cyborg stated, looking at the two DNA samples. Both samples were identical to one another, proving that the small, green boy was definitely Beast Boy.

"How could Slade have changed him like this? It doesn't make sense how he could," Robin questioned to himself, not sure how the technology worked.

"Although the DNA is a match, I can tell that the DNA isn't aged as much," Cyborg started explaining. "Also, some of the animal DNA hasn't been expressed yet. He doesn't have the part of his DNA that he acquired after the chemical and Beast incident either. This isn't just a smaller version of Beast Boy; Slade actually managed to reverse his age. This is a six year old Beast Boy."

"I can sense that he doesn't remember anything. He felt absolutely no recognition when he saw us. Not only is he physically his six year old self, but also mentally," Raven added.

The team thought for a moment before speaking. Finally, Robin spoke up. "Raven, is there anything else you could sense from him?"

Raven was silent for a moment, deciding what the best way to describe the situation would be. "He's very…different than what we are used to. He's feeling a lot of fear and anxiety. At first I thought it was just the situation, with Slade and then us, but it kept lingering long after he initially calmed down. He's also feeling very upset, but it feels deeper than just general sadness. I'm not quite sure what's going on with him though; his emotions are complex to read."

"Could it just be the situation? I mean, for the last few days, he's been held captive and abused by Slade. I imagine that the situation would mess with his emotions like that," Cyborg questioned, concerned over the information that Raven provided.

"It's possible, I suppose. It just feels like more than that. I don't know how to explain it; it's just different," she responded. The team was silent once again, feeling as if they were at a loss, and unsure of how they wanted to proceed.

Robin sighed. "Tomorrow, we start searching for Slade. The sooner we find him, the sooner we find the machine and the sooner we get Beast Boy back," he started. "In the meantime, while we have him in this state, we need to make him feel as safe and as comfortable as possible. We don't want him freaking out again like he did in the cave." Raven and Cyborg nodded, agreeing with their leader. "It's been a long day, but for now, everyone is safe. Let's go ahead and call it a day." The three teens departed, each heading to their own bedrooms to turn in for the night.

* * *

The next morning, the teens slowly made their way down to the Main Ops room. The first to arrive was Robin, who immediately went to the large computer to check on any Slade updates. When he found none, he turned and went to the kitchen, where he got himself a glass of water. Soon after, Cyborg and Raven entered as well, joining him in the kitchen.

"Morning, y'all," Cyborg greeted, letting out a small yawn. Raven went to her tea kettle and started brewing herself a green tea. "Any updates on Slade?" he asked Robin, automatically assuming that he checked when he got up.

"No, nothing yet," Robin responded. As soon as Robin finished his sentence, the Main Ops doors swooshed open, revealing Starfire and Garfield. Garfield was still holding the bunny, and he had deep bags under his eyes. The two walked over to the kitchen where the other teens were gathered; Garfield trailed slightly behind Starfire.

"Good morning, friends!" Starfire exclaimed.

"Morning Star," Robin and Cyborg replied in unison while Raven nodded.

"Morning Garfield," Cyborg started, looking down at the boy. "How'd you sleep?" The boy still wasn't making much eye contact with him; rather, he was looking just right of Cyborg's face, looking into the background instead. His hair was slightly ruffled up, indicating that he had a rough night.

"It was fine," the boy replied. He moved his gaze from right of Cyborg's face over to the kitchen sink. "Can I have a glass of water?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah! Of course!" Cyborg responded, smiling. He gestured for Garfield to follow him, and the two walked over to the sink.

"How was he last night?" Robin asked Starfire once they were out of earshot. By this point, Raven had joined them with her freshly brewed tea.

"He did not sleep much. He kept waking up, and he did the tossing and the turning. Whenever he did fall asleep, he kept murmuring in his sleep, but I could not make out what he was saying. He sounded…upset though, as if he was having the nightmares," Starfire responded, concern covering her face.

"Hmmm," Robin mumbled as he thought to himself. "Maybe we should sit him down and talk to him, see if we can get a little information out of him," The two girls nodded in agreement.

Cyborg had gotten Garfield and himself each a glass of water, and the two were heading over to the table to drink their beverages. Although the boy still wasn't making eye contact with Cyborg, or any Titan besides Starfire really, he was starting to develop a liking for the metal man. He thought he seemed cool, like a big brother.

Robin, Starfire, and Raven made their way over to the table where Cyborg and Garfield were, sitting down in the available seats.

"So Garfield," Robin started, thinking about how he wanted to get information out of the timid boy. "How do you like it here so far? Do you have any questions?" The boy thought for a moment while he sipped his water.

"Your home is very big," he said, quietly. His voice was high and scratchy, much like his teenage voice, but much squeakier in pitch.

Cyborg and Robin chuckled slightly at his response. "Yeah, it's pretty big. Easy to get lost in until you learn your way around," Robin responded. "Hey, how about we give you a tour of the tower later? Get you a little more acquainted with the place?" Garfield nodded at the suggestion.

"Yeah! You'll like it a lot. We'll show you the gym, the game room, the –," Cyborg started enthusiastically.

"Game room?" Garfield questioned.

"Yeah, we have a game room with a bunch of different games. We have a lot of games, especially video games. We also have a game console here in the Main Ops room, right over there," Cyborg said as he pointed over to the TV.

"I like video games," Garfield responded shyly, but excitedly nonetheless.

"I had a feeling you would," Cyborg responded, smiling at his small friend. "Maybe we'll play some games later, okay Gar?" The boy's somewhat excited expression subtly dulled when Cyborg referred to him as such. "Is it okay to call you Gar? Or do you prefer Garfield?" Cyborg asked, noticing his change in expression.

"Gar is okay; I don't mind. That's what my parents and friends would call me," he responded, the saddened expression remaining stained on his face. The room was quiet for a few moments, no one daring to speak at first. The atmosphere in the room was low, with a wave of sorrow hitting the teens. Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit, Starfire spoke up.

"You haven't met my Silkie yet, have you?" Starfire exclaimed, forcing a large smile onto her face.

"Silkie?" Garfield questioned the smiling alien girl.

"Oh yes, my Silkie. You will love my little Bumgorf! I will go bring him now!" Starfire said as she flew off to fetch Silkie. The room seemed quiet and empty with the absence of the ecstatic teen. No one knew what to talk about, so they sat in silence awaiting for their friend's return. Garfield continued to sip on his water, soon finishing it and setting it down on the table in front of him.

Starfire's absence was short lived, and soon she flew back in carrying her Silkie. She hovered over to the table, presenting her little Bumgorf to Garfield.

"Here is my Silkie," she smiled, extending the cute larvae towards the boy. He raised his eyebrow, giving a quizzical look towards the mutant animal.

"He's….cute," he said, feeling somewhat unsure about the animal. But Starfire and the other teens seemed unfazed by the creature, accepting him without fear, so he figured he must be safe to have around. He extended his hand towards the creature, petting his head lightly. The animal had a content expression on his face, obviously appreciating the attention. Silkie, recognizing the boy, nudged himself out of Starfire's arms and into the arms of Garfield. Startled at the sudden movement of Silkie, Garfield held him in his lap, and the creature laid down.

"He likes you!" Starfire giggled as she clapped her hands together before sitting down in her seat again. Garfield continued to stroke the head of Silkie, who made a noise comparable to a cat's purr.

"When could we do the tower tour?" Garfield asked while he petted the content Silkie.

"We could do it whenever you want. How about now?" Robin responded.

"Okay," Garfield responded. The four teens stood up. Garfield picked Silkie up off his lap and held him in his arms before standing up.

"Ready?" Cyborg asked the boy once he had the creature situated properly in his arms. Garfield nodded in response. Cyborg smiled, and the teens headed out of the Main Ops room and into the rest of the building, starting the tour.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 7! Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Ambiguous Cake: Thank you! I wish the chapters were longer, but I struggle with that for some reason. It's one of the main things I wish to improve on. Glad you're enjoying the story! And thank you! I'll work on that! I didn't even realize I was doing that haha, but I will try my best to change that in the future chapters :)**

 **DarkDremora4: Thank you! I know this story is a bit out of the ordinary like you said with the M rating and darker themes and all, but I hope it still works out well. I've always had a liking for darker themes in stories, and the themes that are touched upon in this story are ones that are important to me to spread awareness about. And I really like that! I think I'll try to add that into this story. Thanks for the suggestion! Don't worry, I'm a sucker for BBRae too haha :)**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter :)**

* * *

"This is the Gym," Cyborg said as the team entered the room. The four teens were showing Garfield around the tower, and it was taking a while as the tower was quite large. "This is one of the places where we do training exercises, as well as just work out."

"There's a lot in here," Garfield commented, stunned by just how much machinery was packed into this room.

"We have a large variety of exercise and endurance equipment," Robin stated. "We need to keep in peak shape in order to perform our jobs well."

The team exited the Gym, heading down to the hallway to see more rooms. The tour was heading towards two hours at this point, but they were almost done. Garfield had already been exposed to the Main Ops room, as well as the Kitchen and Living Room, and he had just seen where the teen's bedrooms were. More investigative places such as the Evidence Room and Interrogation Room had been pointed out to him, but were not explored. At the end of the hall was the much-anticipated Game Room.

"And here," Cyborg said, his face beaming with excitement towards the room, "is the Game Room!"

The team entered the room, with both Cyborg and Garfield's faces lighting up at the sights before them. The room was filled with different types of games, including pinball, basketball, shooting games, and others of the like. There was also a large cabinet that held board games and card games, but these were not used nearly as often as the other games.

"Whoa," Garfield exclaimed, gasping at the vast variety of games.

"Garfield, do you wish to look through the games?" Starfire asked.

The boy went up to the cabinet slowly, inspecting its' contents. A brightly colored game on the third shelf caught his eye. He reached up to grab the game, but was too short to reach it.

"Here, I got it," Cyborg said. He reached up to grab the game, but when he grabbed it, he realized too late that he didn't have a good grip on it. As soon as the box left the shelf, the bottom half separated from the top, spilling its' contents on the ground with a loud crash, startling the teens.

Garfield let out a small squeal before clumsily transforming into a small bird. The transformation lasted a few seconds before he transformed back into human form, falling to the ground and landing on his back. "Ow…," Garfield muttered as he hit the ground. The teens automatically went to his aid, with Cyborg and Starfire helping the boy up.

"You okay?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Garfield responded once he was back up on his feet.

"What happened?" Robin asked him, confused as to why he transformed so suddenly. Garfield looked to the ground, obviously embarrassed at what just occurred.

"The game. When it fell, the noise scared me. Sometimes when I get scared, I change, but I can't really control it," he said quietly, his cheeks growing red and hot.

Cyborg laid his hand gently on the boy's shoulder, causing him to flinch slightly. Cyborg removed his hand after softly patting his shoulder.

"It is normal to not have full control over your powers, especially at such a young age," Starfire reassured Garfield, but the boy still felt self-conscious.

"It can take a while before you begin to master your powers, and even then, there is still much to learn," Raven added.

"So you don't think it's weird, or wrong?" Garfield asked shyly. "The others thought the changes were a curse."

"The others?" Robin asked, intrigued by the information that Garfield was providing.

"Back home. My friends, and the other tribesmen. They thought I was cursed when it happened. The only people to accept it were...," he trailed off momentarily, as if in a moment of thought, "were my parents."

"We do not think it's weird or wrong. There is nothing wrong with having these powers. It just makes you different, and that is a good thing," Starfire bent down to Garfield's height, looking at him in the face.

He briefly made eye contact, but quickly looked away at the floor. There was a sadness in the boy's eyes. When he said nothing more, Starfire stood back up.

"How about we continue this tour of the tower?" she smiled softly at Garfield, and he nodded. While Starfire asked him this, Raven used her powers to put the pieces back in the box, to which she set back softly on a table.

When they left the Game Room, they gathered in the hallway. "Where to next?" Robin asked Cyborg, who was the one primarily leading the tour.

Garfield was standing next to Raven as the teens discussed where to go next. He was growing used to the dark girl, and something about her actually made him feel at peace. She had a subtle scent to her, one that only he could sense due to his impeccable sense of smell; it was the smell of lavender fields and fragrant flowers, and it calmed him down.

Cyborg thought for a moment, going over in his head where they've been to already. "Hmm… I guess the only thing left is the basement," he stated.

The team headed towards the elevator at the end of the hallway, all squeezing in so they could start their descent. Once they arrived, the elevator doors opened, revealing a dark, grey hallway. They walked into the hallway, entering the door that lead to the basement. The team stood on the basement stairwell, peering into the large, dark room before them.

"This is the basement. Probably not a place you want to hang out in. It's easy to get lost in here if you're unfamiliar with it, and it's pretty boring," Cyborg told Garfield, who just looked into the expanse of the basement, nodding. The team headed out of the basement, back into the hallway and towards the elevator. "Well, I guess that brings this tour to an end! How'd you like it?" Cyborg asked Garfield, who had remained quiet ever since leaving the Game Room.

"It was cool. It's really big here," he responded. The boy seemed distant, as if he was lost in thought. The team stuffed themselves back into the elevator, and headed back up to Main Ops.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 8!**

 **Hope you're enjoying the story still. Please continue to read and review!**

 **Have a nice day! Thank you!**

 **\- Hunter :)**

* * *

Days passed, and the whereabouts of Slade remained unknown.

"He's got to be somewhere! How can he just disappear like this?" Robin yelled at the blank screen, showing no reports of sightings or activity.

"It's gonna be okay, dude. We'll keep searching for him, and we will find him in no time," Cyborg reassured his anxious leader.

For the last few days after they found their young friend, they had taken turns searching the city and surrounding areas, placing specific focus on the wooded areas that Slade had been hiding in recently. They investigated the cave that they had found Garfield in, looking for any evidence that could potentially point them in the right direction, but alas, they found nothing. Slade made sure to leave absolutely no clues this time, and it was working out well for him.

"Are you sure you can't reverse the effects of that machine on Beast Boy? Is there any way at all to do that without the actual machine?" Robin asked.

"I don't think so. There's nothing in his DNA that suggests a 'switch' between ages. No markers or anything that suggests how Slade managed to do it. I'll keep trying, but I think we have to find that machine," Cyborg responded, sounding defeated at his lack of understanding of the machinery used. Cyborg had been studying Garfield's DNA for the last few days, trying to unlock any clues about how it was reversed in the first place, and seeing if he could reverse it back himself.

Just as Cyborg finished up his conversation with Robin, the doors switched open, revealing Starfire.

"Hey Star," Cyborg said upon seeing his Tamaranean friend.

"Good morning, friends!" Starfire responded, cheerful as she always is.

Cyborg and Robin watched the door behind Starfire, expecting Garfield to follow her as he did for all the past mornings, but he was not there. Garfield was still acting very timid around the teens, and although he was becoming much more comfortable around them all, he still took a special liking and comfort towards Starfire. He was almost like her small shadow, following her just about everywhere unless Cyborg or another Titan was accompanying him.

"Where's Gar?" Robin asked upon seeing the boy's absence.

"He is in my room. He is still waking up and requested some alone time. He promised that he would be down shortly," she replied. Starfire flew to the refrigerator, grabbing some native Tamaranean cuisine out of the fridge. "Friends, would you care for some of my homemade Glorkal?"

"No thanks," Robin and Cyborg said simultaneously, a little too eagerly. They cared for Starfire deeply, but her cooking was something that they learned to avoid over the years. Starfire settled herself and her homemade Glorkal at the kitchen table and started consuming the jiggling purple treat while Robin and Cyborg sat down on the couch to watch TV.

Raven quietly made her way down to the kitchen after a session of meditation, and began to brew herself chamomile tea.

"Good morning, friend Raven! Would you like some homemade Glorkal?" Starfire asked her enthusiastically.

"No thanks," Raven responded as she sipped on her steaming chamomile tea.

Soon, the doors to the Main Ops room opened up, revealing a tired looking Garfield. He slowly made his way over to the couch silently.

"Morning Gar!" Cyborg said when he saw his friend. It was still odd for the teens to see their friend as a child, but they were beginning to get used to the idea, at least as used to it as they could.

"Good morning," Garfield responded quietly as he positioned himself onto the couch, away from the others. In another attempt to share her food, Starfire offered some to Garfield.

"Friend Garfield, would you care for some homemade Glorkal?" she asked him, presenting the foreign meal to him. Garfield was unfamiliar with Starfire's food, and didn't automatically decline like his friends did due to a known distaste of it, but nonetheless declined.

"No thank you. I'm not hungry," he responded, surprising the teens.

"Really? You didn't eat last night either. Is everything okay?" Robin asked. Garfield had been eating somewhat steadily when he first came to the tower, but lately, he had been declining food more and more often.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just not hungry," he said, moving his attention to the TV broadcast. The teens took his cue that he didn't want to discuss it further, and went back to their activities. Unfortunately, that didn't last long, for the Titan alarm started blaring in the Main Ops room, staining the room with flashing red. Robin ran to the computer to see what was happening.

"Is it Slade?" Raven asked, joining the other teens who had gathered behind Robin.

"No," he said, disappointed, "it's just Control Freak."

The teens sighed, wishing that they could take their revenge on Slade already, as well as change their friend back to his original form.

"Titans, let's head out," Robin stated.

"But Robin, what about Garfield?" Starfire asked, reminding Robin about the child. They knew that they probably shouldn't leave him alone quite yet. It's not that they didn't trust him, but rather that so many things could happen to a child left alone in a big, unfamiliar home, and they didn't want to risk anything.

"I can stay behind and watch him if ya want. Control Freak isn't too hard to take down," Cyborg offered. Robin thought for a moment before responding.

"Fine. If we need you there, we'll call you," Robin declared. "Okay, Titans, GO!" The three teens headed out.

Cyborg made his way back to the couch. Garfield was still sitting there, staring into space.

"Why did you do that? I don't want to hold you back from your job," he asked, sorry that Cyborg didn't get to engage in the fight because of him.

"It's cool, don't worry about it. Sometimes nice to take a break away from fighting anyway. Besides, I get to hang out with you, which is pretty awesome," Cyborg responded, hoping to lift the young boy's spirits.

Garfield just nodded in response, and stared at the floor. Cyborg noticed his apathy.

"Hey, wanna play a video game? We never got the chance to a few days ago." The boy thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "Awesome! Any game in particular?" Garfield shook his head. "Okay, I'll go get one. Be back in a sec!" Cyborg ran out of the room to get a video game, leaving Garfield alone in the room.

When Cyborg returned a few minutes later with Ninja Monkeys 7, Garfield was still in the same position he was in earlier, with the same distance expression on his face. He was in his oversized jacket, letting the long, thick fabric cover his body in warmth.

"Hey dude, you okay? I got the game; you should really like this one," Cyborg said, knowing that this was one of Beast Boy's favorite games.

"I'm just tired," Garfield responded as Cyborg put the game in, handing the boy one of the controllers.

"Okay, dude. But if you need anything, or just want to talk, I'm here, okay?" Cyborg told him. Perhaps he was really just tired, but something about him made Cyborg feel like it was more than just fatigue. Garfield nodded silently, and the two started to play the game.

The two played the game for about an hour before they ran out of lives. They were pretty silent while playing; Cyborg would make reactive remarks when something good or bad happened in the game, but Garfield just went along with the game without any response. Even when Garfield won, he didn't react.

"Man, you're pretty good at this game," Cyborg said to Garfield, since the boy technically hadn't played it before.

"It was fun," Garfield said, "but I didn't like the monkey that much."

"Why's that?" Cyborg asked. The main monkey in the game was evil, and the goal was to use Ninja monkeys to take down the evil monkey.

"I don't like monkeys that much," the boy responded. Before Cyborg could ask him why, the three Titans walked back into the Main Ops room, returning from battle.

"Hello friends!" Starfire beamed, "how was your morning?"

"Pretty good. We played some Ninja Monkeys 7, and Gar here beat my butt pretty bad. He's got some skills," Cyborg smiled, patting the boy on the shoulder as he took his controller back to the game console. "How was the battle with Control Freak?"

"We also beat the butt! We were victorious!" Starfire responded as she made her way to the couch and sat down.

"Wasn't too hard. He tried to take over a game store this time," Raven said, returning to her cup of tea that she had abandoned earlier.

"He's now in custody, but you know he'll be back in no time," Robin said, settling down on the couch next to Starfire.

"Always is," Cyborg responded. There was a brief silence among the team as they settled back down. Then, Garfield stood up off of the couch.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," he said before making his departure from the room. As soon as he was out the door and out of earshot, Robin spoke up.

"How was he when we were gone?"

"He was fine. Seemed a little down though, but I'm not sure why. Just not all too talkative still, which is weird. He said something odd though, which caught me off guard," Cyborg responded.

"How so?" Raven asked, joining the teens in one of the nearby chairs.

"After we finished playing Ninja Monkeys 7, I asked him how he liked the game. He said it was fun, but he said he didn't like the monkey. Apparently, he doesn't like monkeys for whatever reason," Cyborg responded, joining Robin and Starfire on the couch.

"That's odd. I thought monkeys were one of Beast Boy's favorite animals," Starfire added, just as confused as Cyborg.

"That's what I thought too, but maybe we were wrong?" Cyborg said.

"Garfield is so much more different than the Beast Boy we know," Robin interjected, "I feel like there's something that he's not telling us. Raven, you said that not only is he physically his six year old self, but also mentally, right?"

"That's right. Why?" Raven spoke.

"Maybe something happened to him recently in his life, something that happened before Slade changed him?" Robin quizzed, trying to work out the questions in his head.

"Is it not possible that the Slade encounter has just made him feel low? He said himself that he scared him greatly," Starfire added.

The evidence of abuse that Slade had done to the boy's body was starting to disappear; his black eye was gone, and the cut on his head was starting to heal nicely. He was finally well rehydrated and nourished, despite his lack of interest in eating.

"Maybe, but I feel like that's not all. I can't tell though," Robin said, just as the doors opened up and Garfield walked back in. The team was silent, not wishing to let the boy know that they were discussing him during his absence. Garfield walked back to the couch, and reclaimed the same position that he was in prior to using the restroom. In an attempt to lighten the mood and lift everyone's spirits, Cyborg spoke up.

"Hey y'all! How about we have some lunch. There's some leftover pizza in the fridge!" he said. The teens nodded, following the robotic teen to the kitchen. Garfield got up and followed as well, sitting with them at the table as they ate their pizza.

It was just a normal cheese pizza, one that Cyborg had gotten from the pizza place that they always celebrated victories at. As the team ate, they joked about Control Freak and the 'battle' that had taken place. They explained to Garfield how Control Freak considered himself to be their arched nemesis, when in reality, he was no threat at all to the teens. Garfield nodded and listened to the teens tell their stories, and responded when he needed to respond, but otherwise nibbled at his pizza in silence.

Raven, who was sitting next to the small green boy, took notice of this. She could sense how distant he was, and she could feel a deep pain emanating from inside the boy. He seemed relatively calm, but troubled nonetheless.

The teens were soon done with their lunch, and Cyborg and Robin took to doing the dishes. Starfire went to go tend to Silkie and give her little Bumgorf a bath. Garfield went back to the couch and sat down, staring at seemingly nothing. Raven walked over to him and stood before him.

"How about you come with me for a moment," she said him, holding her hand out for him, "I want to show you something."

Garfield looked at her hand and then at her face. Her hood was down, exposing her expression. She was calm and serious. Garfield thought that she was very pretty and he wanted to hang out with her more often. He took her hand and she led them out of the Main Ops room.

"Where are we going?" he asked, curious at her sudden approach to him.

"You'll see soon," she responded, not wanting to let him know where they were going quite yet. She led him through the hallways and up to the top floor before stopping at a door. She typed into a keypad next to the door which then swooshed open, revealing the sky before them. She led him outside onto the roof. The sun was high in the sky and it was warm out, the sun tingling their skin. They sat down a few feet away from the edge.

"I like to come out here and mediate. I find it peaceful, and I thought that you would too," she told him.

"It's nice out here," Garfield responded, looking out over the horizon at the city in the distance. It was peaceful for him, to both be out here and to be near her. They were silent for a few minutes; Raven was hovering slightly above the ground meditating while Garfield sat next to her and focused on his surroundings.

"There's another reason why I wanted to bring you out here," Raven said, breaking the silence. Garfield looked at her curiously. "I wanted to talk to you, see how you're doing. You seem to be somewhat upset about something, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Garfield moved his eyes away from hers and back to the city and ocean in front of him.

"I'm fine," he said, trying to mask his feelings.

"We both know that's a lie," she said to him, "I don't know if you're aware of the extent of my powers, but I can sense emotions. And I can sense that you are not fine."

Garfield took this new information in silently, letting her words sink in for a moment.

"You know you can talk to any of us, right? We're here to listen, and we won't judge you," she said.

"I know," Garfield said, nodding. They sat in silence for a few more minutes while staring out at the ocean and city before heading back inside. Garfield knew what she said was true; he knew he could talk to them and that they would listen to him. But he didn't know how to talk about how he was feeling. He didn't even understand how he felt, so how could he begin to explain? Besides, explaining would be too painful, and he didn't want to risk being hurt, so he remained silent.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 9! We're about to hit the major turning point in the story and I'm excited to hear what you guys think about it.**

 **Guest for Chapter 8: Haha thank you! Glad you're enjoying the story! Don't worry; there will be a lot of action starting very, very soon. These last few chapters have sort of acted as filler chapters in the sense that I wanted a descriptive buildup towards the major event that's about to take place. :)**

 **r0bstarfan13 for Chapter 8: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story as well :)**

 **Thank you for reading and please keep sending in your reviews! They are greatly appreciated!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

It had been well over a week at this point, quickly approaching two weeks. Despite the number of days that had passed, and they were still no closer to finding Slade, nor were they any closer to changing their friend back to the way he was. They still didn't know how the villain managed to pull off this scheme, and they still didn't understand why he would do such a thing. One thing they did know, though, that Garfield was very different than the Beast Boy they knew, and not in good ways. Ever since they found the boy, they noticed just how panicky and quiet he was. He often shied away from the teens, only including himself only when he was prompted to. At the beginning of his stay, he more or less became Starfire's second shadow, following the girl around as he was introduced to his new surroundings. Lately, though, the sight of him became scarcer as he secluded himself away from the group. Even when he was present in the room, he was distant, often requiring multiple attempts of gaining his attention before it was truly gained. He hardly ate or drank anything, and when he did eat whatever little he could, it took him much longer than the others, as if each bite was hard to get down. Although the teens noticed these strange and alarming changes in their young friend, they didn't know or understand what was prompting them.

They originally thought that it may just be the new environment, or perhaps the harsh treatment he received from Slade, but as the timed passed, that seemed less and less likely. This unusual demeanor concerned the teen heroes greatly, but since they didn't understand what was going on with him, and since they couldn't get it out of him, the most they could do was to simply watch over the boy, making sure he was included and that he was eating and drinking enough. That, though, was a battle in and of itself, and one they were not used to.

The teens had settled down for dinner, and after a little coaxing, Starfire was able to get Garfield out of bed to come eat. When the boy entered the room, his short hair was ruffled, lines covering his face from where the pillow and blankets made indentions. When he got to the table, he stared at his food for a moment before picking up his fork and stabbing at his food a bit. Cyborg had been in charge of cooking tonight, and decided to make something vegetarian for his shape-shifting friend; they were eating roasted vegetables on top of instant rice.

"Garfield, aren't you going to eat?" Starfire asked him, noticing his repeated distaste towards eating.

"I'm not that hungry," he responded quietly, not looking up from his plate.

"You have not been eating lately though. You must be at least somewhat hungry," she further stated, trying to convince him otherwise. Garfield didn't respond; he just slightly shrugged his shoulders.

"Try to eat just a little bit, dude. Please," Cyborg pleaded with the boy. Garfield, once again, said nothing. He stared down at his plate, and after a moment of thought, he picked up his fork and took a few, slow bites of food. This pleased the team enough to stop pleading with him, at least for the moment. They ate mostly in silence for the rest of the meal, with the exception of some basic small talk among the teens.

Once finished, with the table cleared and now-clean dishes put up, the team settled down on the couch in front of the TV. Robin and Starfire sat next to each other in the middle. Cyborg sat just to their left, with Raven to the right with her head in a book. Garfield sat at the right next to Raven. Robin started flipping through the channels, trying to find something that they would all like.

"I am going to go fetch a blanket from my room. Would anyone else like one as well?" Starfire asked, getting up from the couch. The teens shook their heads. Garfield didn't respond, but he was still wearing his oversized jacket, so he seemed warm enough. "I shall be back momentarily, then," she said as she flew out of the room.

Robin kept flipping through the channels, but nothing caught the team's interest. There was the news, a soap opera, some sort of weird reality show, and many other shows that they were not interested in. Getting annoyed by the noise of constant channel-changing, Raven spoke up.

"Can you just pick something already?" she asked in her monotone, wishing to be able to focus on her novel.

Robin was in the process of pressing the channel button when she said this, but stopped as soon as it landed on the next channel. The next channel was the nature channel, and it was showing a documentary about different rainforests. The announcer, who had a strong, foreign accent, was explaining how climate change was hurting the wildlife and plant life in the rainforests. They switched from image to image, showing different animals in the rainforest going about their daily business, and showing the decay of some indigenous flora. They panned out, showing the announcer standing in front of a waterfall in the rainforest, explaining how climate change had specifically affected the water cycle in the ecosystem, and the amphibians that lived in the waters.

The team was quiet as they watched and listened to the show, trying to appreciate what he was talking about. Garfield, though, was by far the most captivated viewer. The images trapped his eyes to the screen, unable to look away from the images that haunted his memories. He started shaking, but it wasn't very noticeable under his large jacket. His breathing quickened pace ever so slightly, catching in his throat. This, of course, caused a noise just barely audible by the teens next to him, who then looked over to the shaking boy.

"You okay?" Robin asked him, turning his attention away from the TV and to the boy.

"I'm fine," Garfield responded quickly, obvious that he was not fine.

"Gar, you're shaking. You sure you're – ," Cyborg started when he noticed the small boy's twitches, but was interrupted.

"I said I'm fine!" he said, standing up suddenly. "I think I'm going to head to bed now," he uttered as he swiftly walked out of the room, not giving the teens an opportunity to question him further.

"But – ," Cyborg started as the doors closed behind the boy, shutting him away from them and their words of concern. Cyborg turned and looked at Robin and Raven, who seemed just as confused as he was. "What just happened?" he questioned the two, wondering if they had caught something that he hadn't.

"I have no idea," Robin muttered, shaking his head slowly.

"I felt panic streaming from him when the documentary started, especially during the waterfall scene. It was a pretty intense panic," Raven explained. Just then, the doors swooshed back open, revealing Starfire with a blanket.

"I just saw Garfield in the hallway, and he said he was going to bed. Is everything okay?" she asked her friends, whose concern answered her question without words. She floated back over to the couch, joining them while she pulled something from her blanket. "My blanket was in the laundry room, not my bedroom. I also found this while I was in there," she presented to the teens a yellow hand towel that had smeared blood stains on it. "I saw the blood, and was concerned that one of you got hurt."

The three teens looked at the yellow towel, all shaking their heads.

"That's not any of ours," Robin stated.

"Do you think it could be Garfield's?" Starfire asked her friends.

"It's possible, especially considering it's not one of ours," Raven responded.

"Should we ask him about it?" Cyborg asked. The teens thought for a moment.

"Let him rest for now," Robin said. "We can approach him about it in the morning, and hopefully get him to sit down and actually talk to us." The teens nodded, agreeing that it would probably be best for Garfield to sleep for the moment, considering how odd he was acting.

The teens continued to watch TV on the couch, their thoughts occupied not with the rainforest documentary, but rather with the wellbeing of their young and quiet friend, hoping that they could get him to talk with them in the morning and figure this all out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone! Here's chapter 10! Hope you enjoy it!**

 **This is the chapter where everything starts changing majorly. Please be respectful about the topics discussed, and read at your own discretion.**

 **PSI-Triforce: I knew having these types of themes in a story where he was so young was risky, but it felt right to me. I wanted to show how these types of problems, like self-harm and depression, can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, situation, etc… As the story progresses, and in the sequel, these themes will continue to change and develop. I hope it works out well and is informative; that's been my main goal. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and are interested in what's happening. :)**

 **Thank you all for reading; please continue to review!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

The night before, when Starfire had headed to bed after the late-night rainforest documentary, she saw Garfield fast asleep in his makeshift bed that was still in her room. His bed, which consisted of a few extra couch cushions with blankets on top, sat in the corner of her room. He was facing the wall, curled up in a small ball with the blankets covering the majority of him, his stuffed bunny lying next to him. Unbeknownst to Starfire, Garfield wasn't fast asleep, but rather crying softly to himself as he stared at the dark wall. The documentary had triggered bad memories for him, causing him to go into a state of panic. He was eventually able to fall asleep after he calmed down a bit, but he was still in pain.

When Starfire awoke mid-morning the next day, she looked over to see that Garfield was not in his bed, nor was he anywhere in the room.

"He must have gotten up early today. Perhaps he is feeling better!" Starfire said to herself, delighted at the possibility that her young friend was feeling well. She got up and got ready, then proceeded to head down to the Main Ops room, where she found Robin, Cyborg, and Raven. Raven was at the kitchen counter sipping on an herbal tea, and Cyborg and Robin were on the couch playing a video game. "Good morning, friends!" Starfire beamed as she entered the room.

"Morning, Star," Cyborg and Robin said.

"Good morning," Raven muttered between sips.

Starfire flew over to the couch and took a seat next to the boys. After looking around the room briefly, she noticed the absence of a certain green child.

"Have you seen Garfield this morning?" she asked, assuming that he'd be out here.

"Isn't he still in bed?" Robin asked.

"No. When I awoke this morning, he was not in bed. I assumed he was out here," she responded, now catching the full attention of her friends.

"He hasn't been out here yet, and we've been here for a while," Cyborg said, pausing the video game.

"Maybe he's in the bathroom?" Raven suggested.

"No, when I passed by the bathroom, the door was open. He was not there," Starfire said.

"I have a bad feeling about this…," Cyborg said.

"Split up and search for him. Starfire, search the outside of the tower. Raven, search the top floors. Cyborg, search the Gym, Game room, and other rooms he seemed interested in. I'll search the Evidence room and Lobby area," Robin ordered, also sharing the same bad feeling as Cyborg. The teens headed off to their respective search areas. Minutes later, their reports started going off over their communicators.

"He is not out here," Starfire announced.

"Not anywhere up here either," Raven said.

"Same here," Cyborg responded.

"I haven't found him yet either," Robin stated. "Where else could he be?" he said out loud, thinking.

"We haven't checked the basement yet," Raven said.

"Why would he go down to the basement? There's nothing down there for him to do," Cyborg questioned.

"It's not like he's been seeking out socialization lately. He's been wanting to be alone. He can easily be alone down there," Raven countered.

"Worth a shot to check," Robin said, "Let's meet there and go down together."

The four teens headed for the basement, meeting at the elevator. They went down, approaching the room. They came to the door and opened it with a creak. The basement was dark inside, cobwebs covering the boxes that littered the floor, making it cluttered and mazelike.

The teens stayed together as they went through, with Starfire and Raven searching in the air and Cyborg and Robin searching on the ground. After a small amount of searching, Raven spotted him.

"He's over there," she said, pointing to the far corner of the basement, boxes surrounding him on three sides. It was a very well-concealed spot, one only easily noticeable from above. The teens rushed over to the spot, taking to the ground on foot as they got closer. They turned the corner, finally spotting Garfield.

He was sitting in the corner between two boxes, his knees up against his chest. His jacket was set next to him in a messy clump of fabric, and it appeared to be saturated in something, but they were unsure as to what.

"Hey Gar, what you doing down here?" Cyborg asked the boy, who didn't respond. They then noticed that he was shaking, quite violently actually, as well as crying. "Garfield, are you okay?" he tried asking again, stepping closer to the boy.

"Get away," Garfield said, his voice weak, but threatening. Cyborg continued to approach despite his warning.

"Gar –," he started, but stopped when he noticed something more alarming as his eyes adjusted to the darkness more. The boy's shirt and shorts had blood on them, and he was sitting on small puddles of blood as well. That's also what his jacket was covered in. The other teens quickly noticed this as well, and started approaching the boy.

"Garfield, what happened –," Raven started, but soon stopped. Garfield slowly and shakily stood up, one hand supporting himself on the boxes beside him, the other holding out a bloody knife pointed towards the teens.

"I said get away. Now," he repeated, staring at the teens. His whole body was shaking, and his skin was much paler than normal. Not only were his clothes covered in blood, but also his arms. He had fresh cuts all up and down his forearms, and they were surrounded by dark scars and scabs of the same size. His wrists had deep vertical gashes in them, blood coming out at an alarmingly fast pace.

The teens gasped when they saw this. Since he was in possession of a weapon and pointing it at them, they stopped approaching for the moment. They knew that he wouldn't use it on them, but they knew better to test the limits of the situation at hand.

"Garfield, drop the knife now," Robin said sternly, but compassionately.

"Please, let us help you," Starfire added.

"No!" Garfield screamed at the teens, his crying intensifying. "Go away now!"

Raven took one step forward towards the boy, her hands in front of her as if to calm the frantic boy.

"Garfield, you need to stop this and calm down so we can help you," she said, trying to sound as peaceful as possible.

"You don't get it! None of you do! Just go away and let me be!" he screamed. His shaking was getting worse by the moment as more blood flowed out. The small puddles of blood were starting to grow larger as the blood dripped from his wrists. He started muttering unintelligible things to himself as he twitched in a very jerky way, and his voice kept going from a quick whisper to a louder yelling, back and forth over and over again. His eyes had this sad, wild look in them, frantically darting back and forth in front of him.

Robin started to approach closer now, and was within about six feet of the boy before he started shouting again.

"Get back! Now! I'm warning you!" he yelled, a low growl emanating from his throat.

"Put the knife down now, Garfield. Stop this!" Robin told him once again.

"I can't…I can't keep doing this. It's not worth it. It just…no! NO! You don't get it! Stop!" he shouted. "I can't handle this anymore. No…more…"

The teens slowly got closer to the boy in an attempt to stop him and take the knife. Garfield, noticing this, brought the knife up to his throat.

"If you come any closer, I'll do it. Get back now," he threatened. He had an intense look in his green eyes as the tears ran down his cheeks.

The teens stopped approaching him, now unsure of what to do. Every action of theirs could end badly at this point.

"Please, Garfield, don't do it! We wish to help!" Starfire pleaded with him.

"You can't help, no one can hel-lp!" he screamed. He was starting sweat, and his words were slurring. "You can't helpm.. me! I can't do it any-y, more!"

"Please let us try. I promise –," Cyborg started.

"No-o, just leavem, leave me…alon-ne," he started swaying back in forth, his color going from pale green to almost white very quickly. He put the majority of his weight on his hand that was still supporting him against the crates, but it wasn't enough. Suddenly, the boy's knees collapsed underneath him and he fell to the side and onto the floor, hitting his head on impact. The knife fell out of his hand and landed in front of him. He started to weakly reach for it, but Robin ran up and kicked it out of the way before he could touch it.

Cyborg picked him up, laying him on his back with his now bleeding head on Cyborg's lap. Robin and Raven took to the sides of Garfield, and helped to hold his arms and torso down. Both of them used their capes to try to stop the blood flow from his wrists, but it was soaking through. Starfire, sitting next to Robin, kept the boy's legs still. He was still conscious, but barely. Despite this lack of clear consciousness, he was putting up a fight. His crying intensified into frantic screaming cries, with choking sobs intertwined between gasps. His whole body was twitching and shaking, and his hands kept clenching up over and over again.

"No! No, letm, let me..go!" he said, trying to fight his way back up. The teens held him down strongly though, and he couldn't get up. He was too hysterical to transform into an animal, so he unwillingly remained in his human form.

"Please, Garfield, calm down. It will be okay," Starfire said to him, trying to keep his weakly kicking legs still. Tears were streaming down her face at the sight of her friend in so much pain and despair. Cyborg was tearing up in his human eye despite his best intentions not to. Raven hid in her cloak's hood, concealing the emotions that were apparent on her face as she felt Garfield's inner turmoil on a deeper level. Robin clenched his jaw in an attempt to stay strong in the situation, but it was obvious that he was in pain at the sight as well.

"No, no, it won't, it'll neve-er," he said quickly. He then started to incoherently mutter things to himself again, his words broken and sharp. "They were all wrong! They said it wouldn't-t be ba-ad, but it was! They lied to m-me!"

Robin opened a pouch on his utility belt, pulling out a small vial of clear fluid and a syringe. Garfield, too panicky to notice, did not fight Robin as he injected the fluid into the boy's bicep.

"I don't want to go ba-ack there! I don't belong anym-more!" His head was swinging from side to side, as if the violent shaking of his head would make them all go away.

The fluid, which is a quick-acting sedative, started working immediately. The boy's fights against the teens weakened quickly, and it was no longer difficult to hold him down. His words were quiet, sad mumbles at this point, and he was sobbing profusely, very distraught. Starfire gently rubbed the shin of his leg in an attempt to calm and soothe him. Blood covered him and the teens, as well as the floor. His mumbles and shaking slowed, and soon stopped as unconsciousness took over. The teens looked at the still boy in front of them in silence for a brief moment.

"I've kept this sedative in my belt ever since the beast incident, in case he or any of us ever required immediate sedation again for whatever reason," Robin said quietly as he put the vial and syringe back in his belt. "This particular sedation will last him for a few hours." The teens nodded in understanding.

"C'mon, we need to get him to the med bay now," Cyborg said as he picked up the small boy in his arms. He seemed so tiny and frail, tear marks drying down his pale face. His breathing was slow and his pulse was weak, struggling from the heavy blood loss. Cyborg started rushing to the med bay, the others quickly heading behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! Here's chapter 11! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Fiery Pancake: Yes, it is somewhat what I was going for. Suicide, as well as mental illnesses like depression and anxiety, are not a pretty thing, and I wanted to show that effectively. I'm sorry you found it disturbing, but making this seem "pretty", for lack of a better term, would make it lose its meaning. And as someone who has dealt with these problems personally and has seen the effects of these problems with people who are close to me, I know that it is not pretty, nor is it pleasant. Making it seem as if it was pretty or pleasant would be a disservice to those who have dealt with these problems. And as for his age, although few people of his age deal with these problems, there have been documented cases of young children committing suicide with the knowledge of what they were doing; people of any age can have these problems. As for it being expected, I also felt like it was somewhat too expected, which is not what I was hoping for. But then again, with the trigger warning, which is completely necessary, being in the story description, there was unfortunately no way to avoid it. I hope you're enjoying the story nonetheless. :)**

 **Allen Blaster: I'm sorry! I don't mean to make you cry, but I'm not going to lie, it acts as a compliment almost because it makes me feel like my story can make someone feel. What happened will be explained very soon. Like with many fanfics, the given pasts are altered to fit a certain desired plotline. Like I said, it'll be explained very soon, but I nonetheless altered it a bit to fit this story, so the past that you read about elsewhere doesn't completely match up with the one I wrote. And thank you! That really means a lot to me. That was my goal, to make my readers feel strong emotions. I'm glad it's getting across well. :)**

 **Please continue to read and review! Thank you for reading!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Robin stared at the sedated Garfield through the observation glass in the Medbay. His arms, torso, and legs were strapped down securely to the table, and there was an IV line connected to one of his arms, slowly dripping saline and other medications into the young boy's veins. He had the heart rate and oxygen monitor attached to his finger, and his arms were stitched up with white gauze that was fastened down and covering them.

After the boy had been sedated by Robin in the basement, he had been rushed up to the Medbay. There, Cyborg and Raven primarily took to the boy's treatment, while Robin and Starfire assisted in any way they could.

His treatment had been tough; he had lost a lot of blood and started to go into cardiac arrest. Robin and Cyborg immediately began CPR, with Robin on breaths and Cyborg on chest compressions. After two complete sets of breaths and compressions, they were able to get his heart beating on its own, and he began to breathe on his own as well. After this, Cyborg and Raven worked to get the blood flow to stop; the flow had slowed considerably, but was still seeping through any medical bandages they attempted to attach. Raven was able to heal the wounds enough to get the blood to clot, allowing the blood flow to stop. Once it was stopped, they stitched up his wounds and started him on a blood transfusion and an IV drip. Luckily, the Titans had reserves of each teens' blood, as well as the blood of the Honorary Titans, in the case that any of them needed an immediate blood transfusion. His condition was stable at this point, so they got him hooked up to all the necessary equipment to monitor his condition, strapped him down, and waited in the observation room for him to wake.

After his condition was considered stable, Robin and Raven went down to the basement to clean up the blood. It had coagulated, leading to sticky, crimson puddles covering the floor and crates. The jacket that was still down in the room was disposed of, too blood covered to wash out. They eventually got all the blood cleaned up, leaving little indication of any prior blood stains. The bloody knife was cleaned and placed into a secure, secret location that only the teens knew of.

The teens' clothes and bodies were covered in the boy's blood as well. They took turns to go to their rooms and clean up themselves, as well as to just get away from the situation, even if it was just for a few minutes. The events that had just taken place had, of course, shaken them up. Even if the boy didn't remember who they were due to what Slade did to him, they knew him. And to see their friend in such pain and distress hurt them beyond words. On top of that, Beast Boy had always been seen as the "happy" Titan, the one who always made a point to make a joke and to make others smile. He always carried a grin and a good attitude along with him wherever he went as if he had never felt a pain in the world. But it now became apparent to the teens that he had, in fact, felt pain, and a deep, burning pain at that.

"I never imagined in a million years that he would've done something like this, something so drastic," Cyborg said quietly as he looked through the observation window at his young friend, fighting back tears. "Whenever he had been in the infirmary before and I fixed him up, I had always noticed long scars on his arms and wrists. I had assumed that they were just injuries he got from fights and never really gave them much thought beyond that. I don't know how I could've been so stupid…"

"None of us would have come to that conclusion Cyborg," Robin replied, "Not with Beast Boy."

Starfire was still crying, but not as profusely as she was earlier. Never before exposed to suicide on Tamaran, this experience was very new to her, and she was having trouble understanding the purpose or the reasoning behind the decision, especially since it involved someone who she considered to be like her younger brother.

"I could sense so much pain and trauma in him ever since we got him from Slade. I shouldn't have overlooked it like I did. It should have been obvious to me," Raven muttered in her monotone, upset about how oblivious she had been to the whole situation that had been brewing in the boy's mind.

"But we didn't know why he was so sad, Raven. We assumed it was because of Slade, which was a reasonable explanation, and still is. None of us could have guessed that it would've lead to something like this. And we don't know what even prompted it," Robin tried to reassure the empath.

"But the warnings were all there! Even if we didn't know what was going on, we should have approached him about it sooner! We should have made him talk about it instead of just jumping to conclusions!" Raven responded loudly, a light bulb in the corner exploding.

Starfire gently set her hand on Raven's shoulder, calming the empath. "We can now, though. We can talk to him soon and see what is going on, and try to help him to feel better," she stated to her friend who exhaled softly in an attempt to further calm herself down.

"When he does wake up though," Robin began, "we need to be careful when we talk to him. We don't want to risk further upsetting him or triggering him in any way. We want him to feel as safe and cared for as possible." The teens nodded in agreement, not wanting to further hurt their friend, especially in the state that he was in.

Soon after the conversation ended, the heart rate monitor began to speed up, indicating that Garfield had woken up from the anesthesia. The team, anxious to see their friend awake, tried to act as calm as possible as they rushed into the room. When they arrived, they found a still-drowsy Garfield panicking at the medical equipment and straps attached to him. He was squirming to get loose, but too weak and too strongly held down to escape.

Cyborg rushed over to the boy. He pulled a syringe off of a medical tray nearby him and started injecting the liquid into Garfield's IV line. Almost immediately, he began to calm down. Although he was no longer fighting the equipment around him, he was still obviously in distress. His body was slightly trembling as anxiety ran through him. He was crying again, but it was silent this time, and less intense.

The teens gathered around Garfield's bed, each taking a seat in the chairs around him. The boy was staring in front of him, avoiding eye contact with everyone. The teens had expected as much, and did not try to push it.

"Hey, Gar, how ya feeling?" Cyborg asked in the calmest voice he could muster.

The boy said nothing. His crying was coming to a stop as smaller, slower streams rolled from his eyes, the already existing tears drying. His trembles were also coming to a stop as the calming agent that Cyborg injected into him started to take full effect. The teens looked up to one another, knowing that they probably wouldn't be able to get him to talk much, if at all, tonight.

"When you're ready to talk, we'll be here to listen. But we will talk about this at some point, okay?" Robin said. He wanted to be composed and understanding, but also stern. Garfield once again said nothing. Robin looked at the clock in the Medbay; it was approaching 1am, and the team was exhausted. "I think it's time for everyone to head to bed."

"I'll stay here tonight, to take watch," Cyborg announced. He couldn't bear the thought to abandon his friend tonight after what happened. Beast Boy was Cyborg's best friend, and he was going to be there for him as much as he possibly could.

Robin nodded at Cyborg. "If you need anything, let us know and we'll be down here as soon as we can," he said to Cyborg before addressing the both of them. "Hope you two have a good night."

"You too," Cyborg said to Robin, Starfire, and Raven. They nodded and left the Medbay to head up to their rooms. They were exhausted after the day that they had experienced, and the incredible stress and panic had drained their bodies and minds.

After Cyborg got up and did a final check on all the medical equipment and turned out the main lights, he settled down in his chair in a way that made it comfortable to sleep in. He knew that Garfield didn't want to talk, and he didn't want to force a conversation on him. He was about ready to close his eyes to sleep when Garfield spoke up.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice quiet and broken. Cyborg looked up at the boy, shocked by what he said.

"You don't need to apologize. There's nothing for you to apologize about," Cyborg said as sincerely as he could. Garfield looked sad and confused as Cyborg told him this. "We're just so glad that you're still here, okay? We love you, and we know you'll get through this."

Garfield started tearing up again, but was silent. Cyborg laid his hand down on the boy's shoulder, and this time, Garfield did not flinch. He gently rubbed his shoulder, calming the boy down. Still being exhausted from the trauma his body went through, as well as the sedation, Garfield's eyes started growing heavy. He soon fell asleep, and Cyborg shortly followed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 12!**

 **Fiery Pancake: Thank you! I'm glad it has come across as accurate. It's one of those situations that's very difficult to write and to portray correctly, so I'm happy that it is accurate. It is disturbing to think of a young child doing something so extreme and to have knowledge of such a situation, but luckily it's highly uncommon and will hopefully remain uncommon. I'm glad you're enjoying the story :)**

 **Crysteldragon: I'm sorry! I hope your last day of schools goes/went well! Hope you're enjoying the story despite all the feels haha :)**

 **I've started working on the sequel to Childlike, and I'm really excited about it. I don't know when I'll start posting chapters for that, but probably around August or September. Childlike is almost done!**

 **Please continue to read and review! I really appreciate it!**

 **Thank you! Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

The next day, everyone was a bit more settled after the events of the previous day. They had begun to have time to process what had happened, but it still seemed unreal to them. It was hard for them to grasp the idea that their friend was so sad and so emotionally damaged that he would go to the extent of trying to kill himself. On top of that, he was only six years old. People who are that young shouldn't even know what suicide is yet, let alone attempt it with such close success. Nonetheless, he had attempted, and now they needed to try to understand why he did it, but more importantly, they needed him to talk to them about it so he could start working out whatever was going on inside of his mind.

After Robin, Starfire, and Raven awoke, they got themselves cleaned up and ready before heading down to the Medbay. They wanted to seem strong for the boy to make him feel safe and secure. When they each reached the Medbay, they found Garfield and Cyborg snacking on sandwiches and sipping on water. They both looked exhausted, with deep, dark bags under their bloodshot eyes. Garfield was sitting up in his medical bed, but was still secured down to the bed in the case that he wanted to escape. He still had an IV line in him, but the majority of the other medical equipment had been removed from his small body considering he was now deemed physically stable enough. His wrists, having obtained such significant injury, made eating his sandwich difficult, so he had barely made a dent in the snack. Cyborg was sitting in the chair next to him, munching away on his snack. They were both silent as they ate and drank, not engaging in any conversation.

"Hey," Cyborg said when he saw the teens enter the room.

"Good morning friends Cyborg and Garfield!" Starfire beamed, trying to be as cheerful as possible.

"I made y'all some sandwiches too, if ya want them," Cyborg said, pointing to a table across the room.

"Thanks," Robin said as the three of them went to go receive their sandwiches. They each took a seat near Garfield's bed and starting eating their snack. They discovered that they were peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches. Robin, who sat next to Cyborg, quietly asked him a question.

"When did you make the sandwiches?" He asked, confused at when Cyborg could have found a good time to leave the recovering boy alone.

"I woke about an hour before him, and I figured since he was asleep and strapped down, I'd have a few minutes to spare to go up to the kitchen and make some snacks," he responded. "He's having trouble moving his lower arms and hands, but he's making progress." He was glad to see that he was willingly eating something, and that he was starting to gain better movement in his arms and hands despite the injuries.

The teens soon finished their sandwiches and there was a certain emptiness that filled the atmosphere. Deciding that it may be a good time to prompt conversation from Garfield, Robin spoke up.

"So, Garfield," Robin said, catching the boy's attention.

Garfield was no longer completely avoiding eye contact today. He would look at the person speaking to him, but couldn't look them straight in the eyes for long.

"We still need to talk about what happened, and waiting much longer is just going to make it harder," Robin said. Garfield gulped, nervous about the impending conversation. Ever since he had woken up from anesthesia the day before, he had been dreading this conversation, knowing that it would have to happen eventually.

"It will be okay, Garfield. You can tell us anything," Starfire said calmly and lovingly to the boy, trying to ease his tension. When he didn't speak up after a second or two, she spoke again. "Do you trust us?" Garfield nodded. He trusted them will all of his heart. They were just strangers to him, but they treated him as if he was family to them, and that meant the world to him.

"I don't know how to even start," Garfield said quietly. He could feel the nervousness brewing within him, and he was getting fidgety. The teens noticed this immediately. Cyborg laid a hand on the young boy's shoulder, calming him down.

"How about we start with the most important question, and then go from there. Why did you do it?" Raven asked. She felt going straightforward would be the easiest for all of them, rather than trying to beat around the bush. Cyborg rubbed the boy's shoulder, trying to show him that it was okay and safe. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"I just couldn't take it anymore," he said quietly, not making eye contact with anyone, but rather staring at his lap.

"Couldn't take what anymore?" Raven asked him. Being the empath, the team felt that she would probably be the best to take lead in the conversation, although the others would speak up when they felt it was necessary.

"The sadness. It's too much," he said.

"But why are you sad? What happened to make you so sad?" she asked him again, trying to get the answers out of him. He said nothing, unwilling to explain.

"You said some things during…it…that were especially concerning to us," Robin spoke up, trying to ease the words out of the reluctant boy. "You said that they were wrong, and that they lied to you. Who are 'they'?"

Garfield took in Robin's words for a moment, letting it sink in. He didn't remember a lot of what he said during the attempt, so this was news for him. Garfield let out a sigh of air before explaining.

"Back home, in Africa, my friends tried to help me," he looked up at the teens, whose faces and eyes urged him to continue. "After my parent's died, they tried to make me feel better. They told me that it'd get better, and that I wouldn't be sad for long. But they lied."

"Your parents died?" Starfire asked, sorrow staining her voice at this new information. Garfield nodded.

"Yeah," he started, "A few months back, they went out on a boat trip to go get special medicine for me. I few weeks before that, I got bitten by a green monkey, and I almost died, but my dad gave me a shot with this medication that saved me. But it turned me green and made me change, so they wanted to try to find a special medication to make me normal again. The tribesmen thought that me and my family were cursed because of how I looked, and they were always mean to us," Garfield continued. He was still looking down at his lap as he talked, too shy to make eye contact at the moment. "My parents told me to not follow them when they went, but I followed anyway. The last time I saw them, they were going over the side of a waterfall on their boat. I tried to save them, but I couldn't. I failed," he had to pause for a moment to regain his composure before continuing. "When I got back to the village, I told them what happened. My friends tried to help me feel better, but most of the tribe turned their backs on me, and then my friends left me too. They said it was what I deserved for cursing the family," he sniffled as he finished explaining, but refused to let any tears flow.

The teens were speechless. They knew that something would have had to happen to him to make him feel so miserable, but they had no idea that it would something like that. It was tragic what the boy had been through, and he was only six years old. And to have his friends and entire community turn their backs on him during his time of need was insane to them. They couldn't fathom how someone could do that to him.

"Oh man…," Cyborg uttered quietly, taking in what he had just heard.

"Garfield, we are so very sorry to hear about that," Starfire said to him. She was in tears, unable to hold them back any longer.

"You didn't fail, Garfield," Raven said, referring to the death of his parents, "You couldn't have saved them. You did nothing wrong," The teens nodded in agreement.

"You said this happened a few months ago. What have you been doing since then?" Robin asked. Considering that the tribe had turned their backs on Garfield, he found it unlikely that he was still living with them.

"I'm not allowed back in the village, and when I do go back there every so often, they throw stones and other objects at me until I leave. They burned down my home and everything that my family owned. Luckily, before they did that, I was able to go back to the house and get a few belongings," he paused before continuing. "Now, I live in the jungle. I made myself a small fort under a tree. No one bothers me out there, so I'm safe," There was a silence in the room before anyone spoke up.

"How did you even know what to do, back down in the basement?" Robin asked him. He didn't understand how a six year old would know how to commit suicide.

"Last year, one of the tribesmen slit his wrist like that, and he died quickly," Garfield responded.

"You know that it will get better though, right? They didn't lie to you. It just takes time, sometimes a long time," Raven said to him. Garfield remained silent. He felt like he couldn't speak anymore. The team knew that he'd probably be unwilling to talk too much more.

"How about you get some rest, Garfield, okay?" Robin suggested to him, to which he nodded and immediately laid back down. He laid down on his side, facing the wall, back turned to everyone else.

"Cyborg, I will take watch now if that is okay with you," Raven requested. Cyborg nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine. Call me if you need me, okay?" he said. It hurt him so much to see his friend like this, and to know what kind of pain that he had been through felt unbearable. He couldn't imagine what it must feel like for Garfield, but he knew it couldn't be easy. Losing his family and then having his friends and community turn their backs on him must be a heavy burden for him. He has no one back home, and he's only a child.

The three teens headed out of the Medbay, and Raven took a seat next to Garfield. She couldn't rest though, so she sat there silently and meditated until her watch was over.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone! This is going to be a really short chapter, and it acts somewhat as a pause between major events. But, the story is about to heat up in a major way as it nears its conclusion, so please keep reading! Since this chapter is so short, I'm uploading two chapters today. Hope you enjoy! :)**

 **Crysteldragon: Yeah! I can do that! I just put it in my phone calendar as a reminder to do so haha. Happy really early birthday! :)**

 **Thank you for reading and please keep reviewing!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

Over the next four days, Garfield remained in the Medbay. They needed his wrists to heal up more before he was able to leave because they didn't want to risk them getting hurt more or infected. But more importantly, they didn't want him to leave the Medbay and try to attempt again. It was very obvious to the team that he was disappointed that they had stopped him from a successful attempt, and they weren't willing to let him out of their sight just yet. There was always someone on watch with him to make sure he didn't try anything in the Medbay.

Although he was still in a lot of obvious emotional pain, they decided that he was well enough to leave the Medbay after a few days, but he would still be under constant supervision regardless. He still slept in Starfire's room at night, and the door and windows were always locked. They removed everything in the room that they thought he could use against himself, making it as safe of an environment as they could for him. During the day, he was always accompanied by a Titan. Since all aspects of his daily routine couldn't be supervised due to privacy issues, the teens had removed everything from the bathroom that he could use to hurt himself, just like they did to Starfire's room. They knew the constant attention was suffocating to the boy, but it was absolutely necessary. Leaving him unattended would be too risky at the moment.

Garfield had made some improvement over the last few days though. Due to the fact that he was unable to hurt himself further, his wounds were healing up nicely. He still wasn't talking much, but ever since he opened up to the teens about what had happened to him, it seemed as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He seemed calmer, but perhaps it was just numbness. He was showing an overall lack of emotion. They knew he was still depressed, but he was refusing to show it. He felt embarrassed about the attempt, but didn't regret it in the slightest. He felt bad that the teens felt the need to constantly watch him and take time out of their day to supervise him, but, nonetheless, he didn't feel regret for the attempt.

They managed to get Garfield to open up a bit more about what had happened to him. They knew talking about it and opening up about it was like pouring salt on a raw wound, but it would help him, even if he didn't realize it yet. He was nowhere near coming to peace with his past, but at least it was out in the open. Hiding it was like putting a Band-Aid over a gunshot wound; it did nothing to stop the bleeding. The injury was still there, and it was getting worse and worse, but ignored. Opening up to the teens was like removing that Band-Aid and getting stitches; it hurt, but it was starting to be repaired. It would always leave a permanent scar, and they knew that. But a scar is always better than an open wound.

They still had no leads on Slade's whereabouts. They were unable to go out and search too, making locating the villain exceedingly difficult. Robin was constantly looking for updates on his location, but alas, nothing was there. He was hiding well this time, but they would find him. There was no doubt about that.

In the meantime, the teens were just trying to make everything as calm and as normal as possible. Trying to recover from the events that had taken place, and trying to make everything feel like it did before it. It was hard, but they were managing. They had to keep their young friend's wellbeing in mind, making it the most important thing at the moment until they could locate Slade and take their revenge, and hopefully change him back.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 14! This is the second chapter I've posted today, so if you by chance missed Chapter 13, go back and read that first please!**

 **Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

The teen's communicators lit up all at once. When they each opened theirs, they were greeted by Robin's face on the other line. His expression was odd; it was a mixture of determination and delight, but it was one that they had come to recognize over the years.

"Get down to Main Ops as soon as possible," he said, his tone strong, "We found Slade."

Each of the teens rushed out of their rooms and down to the Main Ops room where they met with Robin. Raven was the first to arrive, phasing through the floor. Cyborg arrived next, with car grease covering his arms from fixing up the T-car in the garage. Starfire arrived last with Garfield in tow.

"Dude, did you really find him? We know where he is?" Cyborg asked, out of breath from running to the room.

"Yes. He was spotted in a warehouse on the west side of town. I have the location, but no other information," Robin responded.

"Oh, this is fantastic news!" Starfire exclaimed, clasping her hands together as she floated a few inches off of the ground.

"We need to come up with a plan," Robin started, "then we can move in for the attack." They wanted to make sure that they had a precise, strategized plan in place so that they could make sure they took him down and changed Garfield back.

"You said he was in a warehouse in the west side?" Raven asked. Robin nodded. "All the warehouses in that district are pretty large with heavy machinery inside. May make it difficult to locate him within the warehouse."

"That's true…," Robin responded, thinking to himself. "Cyborg, would you be able to pull up a blueprint of the warehouse, see what the layout looks like?"

"Sure thing," Cyborg said as he headed to the computer. He starting typing quickly, soon bringing up the blueprint. As Raven had stated, the warehouse was exceptionally large. There were multiple stories to the warehouse as well, some of which went underground. Robin studied the blueprint for a moment before addressing his team further.

"It's unlikely that he would be on any of the above ground floors, so I think we should focus our search on the underground floors," he announced. The three Titans in front of him nodded in agreement.

Garfield, who had been standing next to Starfire since entering the room, made his way over to the couch and took the seat. He remembered his time with Slade very vividly, and although he was only in his company for a short period of time, it had been absolutely awful. He feared that man, and was scared about encountering him again.

"Raven, when we arrive, can you phase us into the warehouse?" Robin asked. Raven nodded.

"Seems like the place has a strong computer network," Cyborg said, still studying the blueprint, "I can hack into any security cameras and other technology that is there, help locate Slade and make us unnoticed."

"Good idea, Cyborg," Robin stated. "After that, we will infiltrate further into the warehouse until we locate him, then attack. We need to get him restrained and locate the machine as soon as possible."

The team stood in silence for a moment, taking in the news. They had finally located Slade and could now take their revenge.

"Robin, what if we cannot locate the machine?" Starfire asked quietly. It was always possible that Slade had destroyed the machine, or that it was irreversible. Robin thought for a moment before responding.

"We'll keep searching for the machine, but, in the end, if we can't find it, we'll just have to keep searching for other options to reverse what Slade did," he said.

"What if it's irreversible and we can't change him back?" Raven asked, fearing the possibility.

"Then we can't change him back. We'll raise him and try to keep him safe until he's old enough and trained enough to become a Titan again," Robin responded, also fearing the possibility.

"If we are able to change him back," Cyborg started, "what are we going to do? There's a chance that he may have no memory of what's happening to him. And we can't just ignore what happened."

"Should we tell him what happened if he does not remember?" Starfire asked.

"If he doesn't remember and we tell him, it may make him feel ashamed. But, more importantly, it may cause those memories to resurface for him. Cyborg, you said that you've found scars on his arms before?" Raven asked.

"Yeah," Cyborg responded, "all up and down his arms, but they were all healed. It doesn't look like he's been doing it as a teen, but it's hard to tell. His wrists have really thick scars on them, so he attempted when he was a child too, not just with us." Cyborg's words sunk in with the team for a moment.

"We shouldn't tell him what happened unless it's absolutely necessary to do so," Robin said, "We don't want to risk this sort of behavior with him again."

The teens agreed. It hurt them to see their friend in so much pain, and they didn't want to see him feel like that again.

"When do you want to head out to the warehouse?" Cyborg asked Robin, eager to get out and kick Slade's butt and get his friend back.

"As soon as possible. But we need to figure out what we're going to do with Garfield while we're in there. He can't fight, and we can't have Slade get near him," Robin responded. The team thought for a moment before responding.

"There's no way to keep him completely out of danger there. And we'll need all four of us against Slade, so we can't watch him. I think the best we can do is just to have him hide somewhere safe until we come for him," Raven said. Robin exhaled, frustrated by the apparent lack of options available.

"Fine, but we all need to know where he's hiding. We can't just have him running off randomly. That would be dangerous," Robin said, to which the team agreed.

"Uhh…guys," Cyborg spoke up, bringing the attention to himself, "where's Garfield?" All four teens instantly brought their attention to the couch where he had previously been sitting, but he was no longer there, nor was he anywhere in the room. He was gone.

"Search everywhere! Quickly! We have to find him as soon as possible!" Robin ordered anxiously, and the teams immediately head out around the tower in a search for the missing boy.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 15! Almost at the end of this story!**

 **Crysteldragon: I'm sorry haha! Cliffhangers are a fun addition to stories, and make the reader eager for more. I also typically don't know how to properly end a chapter, so cliffhangers are a fun and easy ending :)**

 **Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

The team split up, searching anywhere and everywhere they could think of in an attempt to find Garfield. They had no idea that he had gotten off of the couch, nor did they know when he had left. They doubted that he was going to try anything too drastic again, but they couldn't know for sure, and that scared them beyond belief. They didn't bother to split up the search from area to area; that would take too much time. This required immediate attention, and that was just what they gave it.

Starfire immediately went to check her room in case that Garfield had returned there. He, of course, was not there, so she went to go check the surrounding hallways and rooms, as well as the bathrooms. Cyborg checked the game room, knowing that the boy had taken a liking to the room. He also checked all the other rooms that the boy seemed drawn to, but he was not in any of them. Raven immediately went down to the basement to search, hoping that she wouldn't find the same scene she did when she went searching down here last time. Luckily, she didn't find that same scene, but unfortunately, he was not in the basement. Robin checked the entrances and exits of the tower, but he was nowhere to be found.

Robin was about to call the other teens on their communicators to meet up to try to figure out as a group where he could be when he thought of one last location that he could check. Robin rushed out of the tower to the location, and to his delight, he saw the boy. Garfield was sitting out on one of the large rocks that surrounded the tower, facing the ocean. Coincidently, he was sitting on Beast Boy's rock, the rock he always went to when he needed to think or to just be alone. He, of course, did not know it was his rock though. Robin stared at him for a moment to judge what he was doing. After a moment, Robin determined that he wasn't doing anything threatening or dangerous, but rather, he was just sitting there with his knees hugged to his chest, staring at the water below him. Robin opened up his communicator, calling the other teens.

"I found him, and he's okay. I'll bring him into the Main Ops room momentarily," he said, the other teens responding with relief and joy. Robin, putting his communicator away, approached him slowly, trying not to startle the boy. When he was only a few feet behind the boy, Garfield spoke up.

"I'm not going to do anything bad, so you don't need to restrain me," he said, not taking his eyes off of the water in front of him. Robin walked up and sat next to him, staring out at the water too.

"I wasn't planning on restraining you. I trust you," he said. Garfield was silent. "Why'd you run off just then? You scared us quite a bit." Garfield thought for a moment before responding.

"I don't want to see him again," he said.

"Slade?" Robin asked, clarifying. Garfield nodded. "It'll be okay. He won't hurt you again. We won't let him hurt you, I promise." Garfield was gripping his nails hard into his skin underneath his jacket, his knuckles turning white from the strong grip he had on his arm. Robin took notice of this; he leaned over and lightly touched his arm. He removed his grip, and Robin noticed that he had punctured the skin with his nails and was now bleeding. "Please don't do this, Garfield."

"I'm sorry," Garfield said quietly, "It helps."

"I know it may feel like it's helping, but in the long run, it's only hurting you. Please try not to do it; there are better ways to feel better," Robin offered. Garfield didn't respond to this. After a few seconds of mutual silence, Garfield spoke up.

"What's going to happen when we get there?" he asked, his voice quiet. Slade had scared him greatly, and the thought of seeing him again was absolutely terrifying.

"Well, once we're in his hideout, we're going to locate him and make him pay for hurting you. He's going to go to jail for what he did. Then, we're going to try to send you back home," Robin said. Garfield didn't know about the age reversal; he had just assumed that he had been somehow transported to Jump City from Africa, and the team was going with that assumption rather than trying to explain what really happened to him.

"I don't want to go back to Africa. I don't want to be alone," Garfield said, tears welling up in his eyes. Robin, seeing the boy's grief, scooted over and put an arm around him, pulling him into a small hug.

"I know it's hard, but you'll be okay, I promise. You won't be alone for long. Besides, I have a feeling that we'll meet again sometime in the future," Robin says. He knew that Garfield would meet the Doom Patrol soon enough in his future, and would later go on to meet the Titans, so he wouldn't be alone for much longer.

They sat silently in their hug for a few more minutes, watching the sun slowly set. Garfield's tears soon dried as he accepted Robin's words. The sky's bright pumpkin orange hue faded into a deep purple, stars beginning to litter the darkened sky. Robin pulled away from their hug, patting Garfield on the back as he did so. "We should go back inside, okay," he said, to which Garfield nodded. Robin stood up and Garfield took his hand as they began walking back into the tower.

They walked back into the Main Ops room where they found Starfire, Cyborg, and Raven waiting anxiously at the kitchen counters. Upon seeing them enter the room, Starfire quickly flew over to them, bending down to tightly hug Garfield.

"Friends! I am so happy to see you return! Where did you go?" she asked hurriedly.

"We were out by the rocks," Robin responded, knowing that Garfield probably didn't want to speak at the moment. By this time, Cyborg and Raven had joined the group at the door. When Starfire released from her hug, Cyborg brought a fist down to Garfield, to which he fist bumped back.

"Glad you're back," he said smiling.

"We should head out," Robin announced to the team, "It's time to make Slade pay."

The team nodded and headed out to the T-car, determined to succeed in their revenge.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello everyone! Here's chapter 16, the final chapter in Childlike! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Crysteldragon: Haha! Well, this final chapter will hopefully bring what you want! I love reading your reviews; they're very passionate and funny. Thanks for all the reviews! :)**

 **Guest: It will, but of course not without some hardships along the way. As for if Beast Boy will remember any of this when he's changed back, the answer is complex, and you will understand why it's complex in the sequel. But generally speaking, no, he will not consciously remember, but like I said, it's complex. Hope you keep reading! :)**

 **DarkDremora4: Thank you! I also enjoy bonding/caring moments between Robin and the other Titans, which is one of the reasons why I wanted him specifically in that scene. I wish there were more brotherly Robin/BB moments in the series! There will be a few more bonding moments, so I hope you enjoy them! Thank you! I thought it'd be cute haha. I thought about that briefly, but I decided to bring him along in the battle in case they found the machine. In this chapter, Slade's motive will be revealed; it's not so much that he wants BB as much as it is he wants to damage him, but it will be explained more in this chapter. I agree! I thought she'd be perfect for that role! Although I made it so that Garfield was also very comfortable around Raven, I wanted their relationship to be different than that of Starfire and Gar. I'm glad it was received well :)**

 **Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter**

* * *

It didn't take the team long to reach the outskirts of the warehouse that Slade was hiding out in. Due to Cyborg's swift and excellent driving skills, they arrived within minutes of getting in the T-car. During the trip, Robin sat in the front passenger seat, relaying details about their plan to the team. In the back, Garfield sat between Starfire and Raven. He held both of their hands the entire ride there; it was keeping him calm enough to not completely freak out about the situation. Raven, sensing his apprehension, rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, which eased his tension a little bit.

Upon arrival, the teens jumped out of the T-car and looked at the large warehouse that loomed in the distance.

"Ready Titans?" Robin asked, glancing at his team. They nodded in approval. Raven proceeded to phase them into the warehouse on the ground floor.

The inside of the warehouse was relatively dark, and it had navy and grey metal paneling covering the walls. Small, domed shaped lights hung from the ceiling; the majority of the lights were either dull in light or flickering, giving a strobed appearance to the room. The area was filled with large, antique machinery from the days back when the warehouse was a business. It was obvious to the teens that few people had stepped inside the walls of the warehouse in the past decades; there was a thick layer of dust covering everything, and there were bugs and rodents finding shelter within the place.

Starfire used a starbolt to light up the path while Cyborg used his shoulder light.

"Cyborg," Robin started, his voice barely above a whisper, "do you see a computer that you can hack into?"

The metal man took another look at his surroundings, soon spotting a computer that was much more advanced than the surrounding technology, suggesting that it was a recent addition to the warehouse. He headed towards the computer and started typing away rapidly at it. The screen lit up with rows and rows of codes streaming down it. Within moments, the system was hacked.

"All security cameras and alarm systems are down," Cyborg announced to the team.

The teens infiltrated further into the warehouse, moving past the hefty machinery that surrounded them. Robin naturally took the lead, with Starfire not too far behind. Raven was in the middle, with Garfield holding onto her hand tightly. Cyborg took up the rear, his sonic cannon ready for fire if necessary. The long hallway that they were walking in soon reached an end, abruptly changing direction to the left. They peered down the long corridor before them. There were multiple doorways on each side, and at the end was a stairwell.

They stealthily marched down the corridor, peering into each doorway as they passed it to check if Slade was inside. Each one was empty, give or take a few smaller machines. They reached the stairwell, heading down. After one flight of stairs, they came to two large steel doors that were bolted down. Robin inspected the doors to see if he could get them to open, but he was unable to.

"Raven, can you phase us in there?" he asked, to which the empath nodded. She encased them in her dark energy, phasing them through the steel doors and into the room behind them. This room was different that the rooms that they had seen on the floors above. Rather than being a small room with long hallways, it was one single large room that took up the entire floor. There was significantly more lighting in this room, the majority of the lighting focused towards the center of the room. The machinery that stood in this room wasn't as messily arranged as it was above. Likewise, there was little dust on it, indicating recent activity.

Robin motioned for the team to continue forward into the room. He was sure that Slade would be hiding out here. They moved along the right side wall, keeping a sharp lookout of their surroundings.

Garfield was growing more and more tense as they moved further on, scared of both the stealth search and of finding Slade. His breathing was rapid, and it was starting to get somewhat loud. Raven peered down at the boy, and he met her eyes. She put one finger in front of her mouth, indicating that he needed to be quieter. She then smiled at him ever so subtly to let him know that it would all be alright. Garfield nodded and tried to focus on keeping his breathing quieter.

They soon passed by a large, black machine that stood taller than any of them. They turned when they reached it, facing the center of the room. Robin motioned for them to head that way. As they approached the area, a deep voice rang out behind them.

"Long time, no see, Titans," the unfathomable voice said behind them, "And just when I thought that I'd never get to see your smiling faces again."

The teens turned swiftly and saw the menace standing against the far wall.

"Slade!" Robin yelled angrily, readying himself for a fight. All the teens readied themselves. Garfield turned and pressed up against Raven while hiding in her cloak, not wanting to see the man before him.

"I see you've even brought your little friend," Slade continued, his tone mocking, "Tell me, how was it babysitting the child?"

"Raven," Robin said, not taking his eyes off of the villain, "take Garfield and go get him in a safe place away from here."

Raven picked up Garfield and held him in her arms before flying off. She flew to the far side of the room, far away from where the fight would take place. She set him down in the corner, where he would be mostly concealed by two large pieces of machinery.

"Stay here while we fight him, okay," Raven said to him. When she tried to take off, he grabbed onto her arm, pulling her back down lightly. She looked into his eyes, where small tears were starting to form. He was shaking as well. "It will be okay. I promise. Just stay here and it will all be okay," she smiled at him again, and he loosened his grip. She flew off back to where her teammates stood. Garfield took a seat in the corner, hugging his knees to his chest and trying to stay as still as possible.

Raven landed back where she had previously been, which Slade took notice of.

"Did you make sure to give him apple juice with a bendy straw?" he mocked, chuckling as he did so, "and of course, a daily nap time." He started approaching the Titans as he continued. "Children are such fun, aren't they?"

"Why'd you do it, Slade? What could you possibly have to gain from doing this?" Robin asked heatedly, fed up with the man's taunts.

"Of course you would ask that. How could I have expected that you would've figured it out on your own? Tsk tsk…," he smirked. "But of course, I have to explain it to your trivial minds. It's simple really – I took one of your most powerful teammates and made him insignificant. Nothing but an irrelevant, meaningless, worthless child."

"That's where you're wrong, Slade," Cyborg stated boldly, "he's none of those things. He's more powerful than you'd believe, and we're stronger because of this. You failed."

"Have I, though?" Slade sneered, "Have I really? The boy seemed pretty broken to me, the way he shook and hid. Doesn't seem too powerful to me. Do you think I wouldn't have done my research?" He looked at the Titans, whose eyes grew wide at his last remark. "I know about his past. I know he tried to kill himself as a child. I know how damaged he is. Funny how he never bothered to let you know about that small detail of his life."

"I've had enough of your remarks, Slade. Titans, GO!" Robin yelled. Just like his teammates, he'd had enough of Slade's comments about Garfield. He had no idea what the team and Garfield had been through, and he wasn't going to let him make fun of the situation.

The teens took off in battle. Robin ran towards Slade full speed with his staff pointed towards the villain. When he approached, he smacked it into the side of Slade's head, knocking him to the side forcefully. Slade countered this by sweeping his leg underneath Robin's, knocking the Boy Wonder down to the floor.

From above, Starfire rained starbolts down on him. Raven joined in on Starfire's attack, combining the green starbolts with her dark energy. Slade screamed out in pain, but dealt with it nonetheless.

Cyborg shot at him with his sonic cannon, causing him to fall backwards into a nearby machine. Robin rushed at him, attacking him with his staff again. Slade kicked the staff, breaking it in half. Robin threw it to the ground, and started engaging in hand-to-hand combat while Cyborg assisted.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven screamed in the distance. Suddenly, a large machine came crashing towards Slade. Robin and Cyborg moved out of the way, expecting her attack, leaving the villain defenseless. It crashed into him, pressing him further into the machines and wall behind him.

For a moment, all was still. Suddenly, the machine exploded, revealing a barely damaged Slade. He rushed towards the teens, taking down Raven, who was closest to him. He grabbed her and threw her into one of the surrounding machines. She screamed in pain as she attempted to get up and went back to continue the fight.

Unbeknownst to the teens, Garfield was listening intently to the fight. He heard his friends struggling in battle, but when he heard Raven scream in pain, he decided to do something about it. The man scared him greatly, but he couldn't just sit back and let him hurt the people who he had learned to consider his friends. He left the corner that he was placed in and quietly ran to the machines that were behind the teens. He peaked out and watched the battle.

His friends were attacking Slade, and the attacks should have been hurting the villain more than they were, but he was fighting back regardless. Slade was hurting his friends, and that angered him. He felt something inside him bubble up, something deeper than anger. He felt his cells start to change and grow in size, shifting to fit a new form.

Cyborg was about to shoot the villain with his sonic cannon when he heard a mighty roar from behind him. The teens turned around to face the source of the sound and they found a large lion running towards Slade.

The lion pounced, taking the villain by surprise. He tackled him to the ground, holding him down under his strong paws. He roared in his face. Slade kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall off of him. He tried to stand up, but Garfield bit his leg. He didn't bite down hard enough to break skin, but just to keep him still. Slade tried to remove his leg, but couldn't.

Raven encased Slade in her dark energy, raising him into the air. Garfield let go of him, watching him be led up into the air helpless. Garfield transformed out of his brand new lion form, falling on his stomach as he did so. He sat back up, supporting himself on the machine next to him to help him stand back up. Starfire and Cyborg rushed to his aid, while Robin approached Raven and Slade.

"It's over, Slade," Robin yelled. "Where's the machine?"

"Of course that's why you came here. You want the machine," he smirked. "I'm sure you'll be smart enough to figure it out."

"Raven," Robin started, "can you teleport him to the extra-guarded Jump City prison? I updated them prior to coming to expect him as a new inmate."

Raven nodded, teleporting him instantly to the jail where he would be properly handled and contained.

Raven and Robin walked over to where Starfire, Cyborg, and Garfield were.

"Nice work there," Robin said, smiling at Garfield while high fiving him.

"Yes, friend Garfield, that was very nice work!" Starfire beamed.

"I didn't know you knew how to transform into a lion," Raven said, remembering that Garfield only knew how to turn into a few animals.

"I didn't. It just happened, but I don't know how I did it," Garfield explained.

"Well, you gotta admit, that was pretty awesome," Cyborg said, laughing.

"C'mon team, we have to find that machine," Robin said, "I know it's got to be here somewhere. Split up and search." The team did just that. Starfire and Raven took to the air, searching from above for the machine. Cyborg and Robin searched from the ground, Garfield trailing behind Cyborg. They searched all the machines, looking for the one that would hopefully change their friend back. All of a sudden, Starfire spoke.

"Friends, I have found it!" Everyone rushed over to Starfire's location, and sure enough, the machine was there. It seemed relatively unchanged as it was from when they had originally found Garfield. It even still had the broken glass and blood stains on the floor of the container where he had gotten injured.

"Well, are we ready to give it a try?" Robin asked.

"Wait!" Starfire exclaimed, "I brought these for him to change into for when he goes in." Starfire pulled out Beast Boy's uniform. She handed the clothes to Garfield. "Can you go put these on? I know they are quite big on you, but you'll need them. Perhaps you can change behind one of the machines for privacy?" Garfield nodded and went behind one of the machines to change. "I figured that if he were to turn back into himself in the clothes he was wearing, they may rip off and leave him exposed. This way, he will be fully clothed."

"Good thinking, Star," Robin responded.

Garfield came out from behind one of the machines, holding his old clothes in his arms and walked back to the team. The uniform hung off his small frame, leaving a trail of fabric behind him as he walked.

"Ready to go in?" Robin asked him, and Garfield nodded. He walked towards the machine and was about to step in, but stopped suddenly. His pointed ears drooped down and he stood still.

"Friend, why are you not going in?" Starfire asked.

Garfield turned around and faced the teens. He looked sad and scared.

"I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave you guys," he said, sniffling.

The four teens exchanged a sympathetic look with one another. They all crouched down to Garfield's height and embraced him in a group hug, to which he hugged back. When they pulled out of the hug a few seconds later, Cyborg spoke up.

"We don't want you to leave either, buddy, but you have to go back home. Staying here would be bad for you," he said.

"But I'll be alone," Garfield said, starting to shake a little bit as he grew more and more anxious.

"You won't be alone for long," Robin said to him, "I promise you that we will meet again someday. You won't be alone forever."

"You promise?" he asked quietly. All the teens nodded.

"We promise," Robin reassured.

Garfield took a deep breath in before exhaling it. He turned around and walked to the machine, crawling into it and sitting down. Cyborg walked over and closed the door to the machine, latching it shut. Cyborg walked over to the metal box panel and looked over the control switches before looking back over at Garfield.

Garfield waved at the teens, and they waved back. They were all starting to tear up a bit at the goodbye. Garfield took another deep breath in and exhaled as Cyborg pressed a few buttons on the panel.

Suddenly, a gas started to fill the container which caused Garfield to pass out after a few seconds. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the small boy started growing in size. Soon, his suit was filled completely out as he returned to his teenage form.

Cyborg turned off the machine and opened the door, letting the excess gas escape. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He looked around him and saw his friends staring down at him.

"Beast Boy?" Cyborg asked, hoping that it worked.

"Ugh, what happened?" Beast Boy responded. "Where am I? The last thing I remember is Slade dragging me into this container and turning it on. After that, nothing."

Robin exchanged a glance with his teammates before responding.

"Slade took you hostage and kept you in this container. We just took Slade down and found you. You were unconscious, but you're safe now," he lied.

Beast Boy sat up, holding his head as he does so. Cyborg put his hand down to him and helped him stand up.

"I think it's time that we all head home," Cyborg said, patting his friend on the back.

Beast Boy smiled brightly. "Definitely!" he beamed.

The team smiled at him in response, glad to have him back and smiling. It had been a long time since they saw him smile so brightly. They headed out back to the T-car to head home, finally reunited as one big happy family again.

* * *

 **So this brings an end to Childlike! I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm sad that the story is over, but it was so fun and exciting for me to write this, post it, and hear all your feedback, so thank you so much! The sequel to Childlike, which doesn't have a name yet, will start to be posted on September 1st. I hope you all will read and enjoy it too!**

 **Once again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! It means so much to me!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **\- Hunter :)**


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